


Window in the Sky

by CanadianMoose



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Based on The Midnight-Nighthawks song, F/M, Flirty Vegeta, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Shy Bulma, Strangers to Lovers, Yamcha is a stalker, window watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-27
Updated: 2021-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-28 12:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30139704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanadianMoose/pseuds/CanadianMoose
Summary: Just a little drabble that was inspired when I listened to the song Nighthawks by The Midnight.Vegeta has taken notice of his new neighbor across the street and her strange habit of forgetting to close her blinds. Intrigued with the strange beauty, he starts to find that he begins to keep his blinds open to catch a glimpse of the woman only to find her watching him back. As time progresses, Vegeta watches her more and more, realizing maybe he wasn't the only one interested.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	Window in the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> The Midnight-Nighthawks  
> I see you  
> You see me  
> Eighteenth floor  
> Across the street  
> Sometimes you dance  
> Sometimes you read  
> TV dinners, fall asleep  
> Do I ever cross your mind  
> Through your window in the sky  
> When you forget to close the blinds  
> So do I  
> I see you  
> Check your phone  
> Wash the dishes  
> Fold the clothes  
> Sometimes you stay up  
> And get stoned  
> But you always sleep alone  
> Do I ever cross your mind  
> Through your window in the sky  
> When you forget to close the blinds  
> So do I
> 
> I'm so sorry to everyone waiting on the next Chapter of "Cause I'm Bulma F*cking Briefs!" This just struck me while I was struggling to go over and redo Chapter 8 over and over and over again. I think I just needed a break from it and get in the right head space. I wrote a lot of that Chapter at like 5 in the morning and it needs some SERIOUS work. So I just wanted to pump this out while it was pinging around and taking up space in my mind. Sorry it took a bit longer than planned, been a hell of week.
> 
> Besides, who here doesn't want to see a AU human flirtatious Vegeta and a shy yet sassy Bulma? I know I did! I'll try and get back to finishing Chapter 8 in a few days... 
> 
> Also, apologies I didn't have my husband beta this before I set it out so there might be a few errors and such when loading it for the first time. I'll take a few days to re read it and edit if I need to but I thought you all would want to see it when it's done. That you would forgive a few mistakes and just enjoy this craziness that I hyped up. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Please don't kill me!

Vegeta winced as his breath came out in pained gasps. Of course today was the day the elevator in his unit broke and he had to climb up eighteen flights of stairs with three fractured ribs. Not to mention his bruised pride at owing his life to that clown of a partner, AGAIN. The drug bust was successful, yet being thrown out of a second story window by Kakarot to save both their lives from a rocket launcher was humiliating to say the least. Pausing at the top of the stairs as he glared at his door with his keys in his hand, Vegeta knew he was lucky to be alive. That after eight months of the most dangerous undercover work he has ever done, it was all over.

' _Now, what do I do with my three month " **paid vacation?** " Like I don't have a massive amount of reports to fill out and red tape to go through..._' He thought cynically to himself before turning the key in the lock and shuffling into his corner end apartment. Flicking on his main living room light, he sighed as he threw the keys onto the end table by the door and groaned as he pulled himself slowly out of his coat. Hanging the jacket on the hook on the front door, he kicked off his shoes in a pile before shuffling into his living room/kitchen/workout space. The sun was slowly falling behind the horizon in the sky of West City, it's fading light was bouncing off the glass of the giant metal skyscrapers a few blocks down. Vegeta gave a quick glance out of his floor length window, once again he had forgotten to shut the blinds before heading out the night before.

' _Oh, looks like someone is finally moving in across the way in Sunrise Apartments._ ' He thought amusedly to himself before trudging to the fridge to grab an electrolyte-infused water. He had brought to the landlord's attention that his last tenet had been printing phony IDs. Vegeta had seen the signs, random people visiting at any hour of the day, passing of thick envelopes and freshly printed cards, the shifty and shady attitude when his blinds were open. It didn't take a genius to see all the "new expensive purchases" the young man had made while being home about twenty hours of the day added up to something fishy.

_I see you_

Walking to the window, he stood there watching the tiny bare apartment flood with activity of the movers. Vegeta's black eyes fell on a petite woman carrying a large cardboard box through the door and setting it down on the kitchen counter. Her cerulean hair was flickering with hints of aqua undertones in the light of the fading sun and her skin was glinting like an iridescent pearl, giving off warm tones against her hair. Ripped skin tight jeans hugged her toned yet curvy frame as well as a baby pink, off the shoulder, cropped top sweater with bold C.C. lettering on it's front. Her hand pushed her shoulder length, beach wavy hair behind her ear as she lifted her head, revealing a black lacy bra strap on her bare shoulder. Vegeta's breath caught in his chest as the move showed her features, a soft, pretty face with high cheekbones and sapphire eyes.

' _Oh damn!_ _Please Kami, let her be_ _the new tenet..._ ' He couldn't help but think with his sports drink frozen in mid swig as his eyes hungrily ate up his gorgeous new neighbor. However, the next moment his hopes sunk as she turned to a tall, semi-buff, scarred face man and gave a cautious warm smile while she spoke. The man chatted eagerly and moved in to try and close the distance in between them, yet the woman put a hand to his chest, her face strained to look polite. Vegeta's brows quirked up in interest again at her rebuff of the man, obviously the scarred face guy liked her and wanted something more through his body language. Yet, the woman seemed more than tense and tried to be friendly but firm in her refusal.

' _Then again, this could be interesting..._ ' Vegeta thought with a smirk as he slowly sunk into his beaten up old armchair, tugging his shirt off before sitting back fully with a groan. He watched as the movers finished up and the small woman started to argue heatedly with the scarred man, her hands and arms moving with more infliction to her silent words. It took only a few more minutes before she all but pushed the man out of her apartment and slammed the door in his face. He watched with peaked interest as she turned the deadbolt and slumped her back against the door.

' _Guess the weakling can't take a hint. Although with a looker like her, I guess I can see why he'd push his luck._ ' Vegeta tipped back his drink and sucked down the last few drops before tossing it over his left shoulder to have it land in his trash can.

With a heavy sigh he struggled to sit up and check his bandages quickly to see the soft cast correctly in place around his chest. Damned thing made him itch like crazy, but it would make his healing faster the more he wore it. The light from the sun had all but vanished as he sat in his barely lit living room, and Vegeta felt a tingling sensation down his neck and spine that made the hair on the nape of his neck stand up. He knew that feeling, the sensation he got when he knew he was being watched.

_ You see me _

He looked up to see across the way the woman standing directly at the window with one hand pressed against the glass. She was staring those deep, blue eyes his way, studying him, watching him. Moving to stand up, Vegeta took two steps toward his own window and plastered a cocky smirk on his face. He was tempted to make some sort of teasing gesture when he was stunned by her reaction. She smiled widely and gave a quick shy wave before blushing and grabbing the blinds to shut them. He blinked once, twice before shaking his head and crossing his arms with a laugh.

' _Well I'll be, that's never happened before..._ ' He thought. Rarely ever had any of the tenets across the way acknowledged him, or if they did met his gaze they were definitely _not_ friendly. He couldn't help the devious grin that graced his lips as he all but hoped that maybe his three months of 'vacation' would prove to be anything but boring.

_ Eighteenth floor  _

It was a four more days before Vegeta caught more than a glimpse of the woman again through the window. He had decided to leave one of his blinds up just in case he could catch sight of her again and hopefully have another encounter. Working mostly from home, he filed his paperwork remotely through his computer and took his time to work out when he could. It was during one of these work out sessions that he noticed activity across the way. Doing his best to seem uninterested, he watched from the side of his eye as she pulled the blinds up to let in the afternoon sun. His heart leapt in his chest at the sight of her, short jean shorts showing her shapely creamy legs and a soft, grey, V-neck T-shirt stretched tightly across her ample breasts.

' _Damn she looks good today..._ ' He thought briefly as he finished his rep with bicep curls on his left arm and switched to his right. His smirk faded as he saw movement of another man cross the kitchen behind her. He almost dropped his dumbell when the man grabbed her in a swift hug and spun her around in a circle, her face showing a joyful laugh before slapping his shoulder as he placed her down. His scowl deepened when he realized the man, who she was so close with, was his partner Kakarot. Vegeta dropped the weight with a loud thud and a snarl as he stood up and went for his phone on the coffee table. Kakarot had a wife and child waiting for him back home, and Vegeta always thought he was a family man. It was one of many reasons he opted to take the more dangerous parts of their work, thought he would never admit it to the clown.

Vegeta had no one he was close with, nor any family left alive that would mourn him if something happened. His job didn't really allow for relationships and all the undercover work left him to give up on having casual flings, even if he was interested in that sort of thing. At least that's what he kept telling himself and anyone else that tried to pry into his private life. Just on the cusp of thirty with nothing but his perfect arrest records to show, Vegeta had never wondered if he made the right choice in prioritizing his career. That was until his new neighbor caught his eye and made him rethink undercover work for the first time in years.

Dialing Kakarot's number, Vegeta walked to the window and place his free hand on the glass as his dark eyes shot daggers at the scene across from him. He watched as the clown pulled out his phone, checked the ID and held up a finger to the woman before he placed it to his ear and answered.

" **Geets! It's rare for you to call me, what's up?** " His partner's annoyingly cheerful voice came through the phone.

" **What the fuck do you think you're doing Kakarot! Don't you have a _wife_ waiting for you at home?**" He growled out, unable to cover the anger in his tone.

Kakarot laughed and rubbed the back of his head. " **I'm out checking up on an old friend and Chi-Chi is busy trying to talk Gohan into summer school before he enters second grade...** " He was interrupted by a startled soft feminine voice in the background, and Vegeta couldn't help to strain to hear it as he realized it was the voice of his neighbor.

" **WHAT?! Second grade! But isn't he like SIX?! The HELL Goku! You'd better not let Chi-Chi suck up all his childhood with studying and school!** " Vegeta watched through the his window as the woman huffed and made a threatening gesture with her fist. His partner laughed and hummed in agreement before responding back in a muffled tone.

" **I know B, I've tried to tell her believe me! You know how Chi is, school is EVERYTHING to her!** " He paused to hear her grumble back something in response that Vegeta couldn't quiet make out and his partner laughed hardily. " **Kami I would pay money to see that, hell I think even Geets would want to see something like that, right bud?** "

" **I have no idea what you are talking about! Look, I don't think your wife would appreciate you _hangin_ _g_ all over another woman like that even if she is _an old_ _friend_.**" He snarled back, barely able to contain his disappointment at his partner's actions as well as the shame Vegeta directed at himself for letting this affect him so much.

The man across the way shifted his head around to look to see where his partner was watching from before he answered. " **Woah, you can see us? Where are you at? Besides, Chi knows about B, we all grew up together.** " Vegeta clicked his tongue at his own foolishness and listened as the woman voice on the other side came closer to the phone.

" **Wait he can see us? What's this about Chi-Chi knowing? Who are you talking to Goku?** " Her tone seemed confused and confrontational. Vegeta watched with apprehension as Kakarot pulled the phone away from his ear and hit a button to put him on speaker.

" **Vegeta, I want you to meet my sister Bulma. Well, kinda, I mean their family took over my guardianship when my grandfather died and I just grew up with her like a brother. B, this is my partner on the force Vegeta Prince.** "

" **Wait, not the guy that is always undercover, and gets himself in trouble to have you to pull is egotistical ass out of the fire Vegeta?** " She asked with a teasing tone and Vegeta saw her smirk as she place one hand on her hip and popped it to the side through the window. Vegeta groaned and slapped his hand over his face shaking his head even though they couldn't see him.

" **The fuck you've been telling your family, Kakarot?!** " He barked back angrily. He watched his partner turn to look around out the window to try and find his position.

" **Nothing I swear! B works for the forensics department freelance when they can afford her...** " Her cynical bark of laughter interrupted his sentence before he grinned and resumed talking. " **Let's just say with your...unique methods...of obtaining arrests and evidence has more than once put her on one of our cases.** " Vegeta was about to snark back a biting comment when there was a tussle of noise before her voice, smooth and silky with a touch of fire, floated through the phone.

" **Yeah their unique alright! Next time you feel the inkling to disarm a class two bomb by RIPPING OUT THE FUCKING DETONATOR FROM THE POWER SOURCE, why don't you think about the damage and time it would take to piece that shit back together! Or wear some fucking gloves like you're SUPPOSE to so I can get a solid fucking print from someone OTHER than on our own damn force!** " Her low growl at the end cause his entire body to shiver as goosebumps spread over his arms and chest.

' _Hot damn..._ ' He thought heatedly before shaking his head and getting back his focus on the woman on the other side of the line. " **Sure babe, I'll keep that in mind when we have less than five seconds before Kakarot and I become charbroiled BBQ!** " He said arrogantly back before he saw Kakarot visibly wince and cover his ears.

" **DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING CALL ME THAT! YOU EGOTISTICAL, IMMATURE, JACKASS!** " She screamed out over the phone so loudly that Vegeta had to pull it away from his ear to stop the ringing. She tossed the phone to his partner, who barely caught it before she stomped away into her bedroom with a frustrated yell and slammed the door.

_ Across the street  _

" **Jesus, the hell was that about?** " Vegeta muttered to himself, as his partner just caught his words on the other end of the line. Vegeta stepped out from his hiding spot near the window and showed himself to his partner. Kakarot waved tiredly at him and sighed.

" **Don't worry to much about it, it's not something you did. Just don't ever call her that, yeah?** " His worried tone peaked Vegeta's curiosity and he tilted his head to the side.

" **Why?** " Vegeta watched his partner look over his shoulder toward the room the woman stormed off in and saw Kakarot press the button to take his phone off speaker.

" **Look, its not really my place to say anything but just know that someone use to call her that a long time ago. Someone that's not really a good guy for her to be reminded of right now.** " Vegeta hummed in understanding and pulled his blinds down, no use in trying to get to interact with her now since he probably blew any good impressions he had with her.

" **Hey** " His partner's voice came over the phone much softer this time with a seriousness Vegeta rarely heard except for the truly dangerous raids that had more than half a chance to cost them their lives. " **Can you do me a favor? Keep and eye out for a muscular guy with a scar on his cheek and across the right eye for me?** " Vegeta froze at his partner's words as the image of the man that was in her apartment less than four days ago came to his mind. Unaware of Vegeta's reaction Kakarot continued talking in hushed tones.

" **The guy is not suppose to show up around here, but just in case he does, give me a heads up? This guys is bad news for B and I'd rather her not get pulled into dealing with him again. She just got over the trauma of the last time...** "

" **He was here four days ago, helping her move.** " Vegeta said coldly as he used his index finger to peek through the blinds and see his partner's back stiffen in response. Vegeta had a bad feeling that this man had shown up unannounced last time and was right to think the woman was tense or afraid when he showed up.

" **You sure?** " His partner looked over to his window to try and see Vegeta through the blinds.

" **Cross-like scar on the left cheek, long diagonal scar across the right eye, about six foot, semi muscular enough, maybe due to sports. Black hair, brown eyes, probably half Japanese...** "

" **Fuck!** " Kakarot cut in with a harsh whisper and took Vegeta by surprise, his partner never swore, not unless things were really bad. Vegeta felt his palms sweat and tingle with the need to strike something, it had been too log since he was able to spar. " **I'm gonna have to double down on checking up with Krillin, I don't know how he got by us like that.** " Vegeta watched his partner sigh and run his hand through his signature bed-head hair. " **Look, just call me the minute he shows up again, this guy is real bad news Geets. I mean he has multiple cases yet not a single one was brought to court, ya feel me?** "

Vegeta let go of the blinds and quickly walked to his computer to open it up and search for a file. " **Name?** " There was silence on the line before he heard a door click and his partner's voice echoed in a hallway.

" **Yamcha, Yamcha Wolfgang...** " Vegeta quickly typed in the name and read the file, his blood boiling. Possession of GHB (common Date Rape drug), assault and battery charges yet, not once had the man been brought to court. Vegeta scrolled though and saw that the last one on file was a battery and attempted date rape charge against the woman when she was twenty-five. " **Yeah I agree with ya bud, trust me.** "

Startled by his partner's words, it took a moment to realize that Kakarot was replying to the low growl Vegeta was making in the back of his throat. Huffing out a deep breath, he ran his hand over his face before looking back at the case file. The man was connected, the Japanese mafia's son was listed as one of his contacts, Tien Shinhan. Vegeta clicked his tongue and angrily shoved his laptop closed with a snarl. " **Bad news indeed...** " He growled out into the phone.

" **So you'll keep and eye out for a while yeah? I mean you're on vacation anyways and you're our best bet for keeping her safe at the moment.** " Kakarot questioned as his footsteps echoed in the stairwell and came through muffled through the phone.

" **Yeah, I'll keep an eye out, any idea why he wants her? Well, other than the obvious...** " Vegeta muttered as he stood up and stretched gingerly as his fractured ribs still ached even through the pain medication. His partner laughed darkly through the phone and sighed.

" **Yeah, she has a recorded conversation between him and Tien about the drug distribution of Neo-Tri. She got it when Yamcha _accidentally_ drugged her.**" Kakarot's voice sounded fake as he said the word accidentally with disgust, and Vegeta agreed. No guy _accidentally_ GHB drugged a woman. " **She wanted evidence when she realized she had been drugged with GHB and got more than what she planned for. Leave it to B to try and get evidence of her own attempted rape and get a drug lord's confession.** " Kakarot's bitter laugh echoed briefly before he opened a door and the sound of the street softly filtered through his phone.

Vegeta walked to his bedroom and peeked through the small window to see the light on and her figure moving behind the blinds. " **Do they know she has it?** "

" **No, I don't think so. I mean Yamcha was her _boyfriend_ at the time but they were rocky to begin with. After everything that happened, she never spoke about it until about six months ago when we started to build a solid case and wanted her here to be a key witness so we could use her evidence in the case.**" The soft slam of his car door alerted Vegeta that his partner was in his car and getting ready to head home. " **Things should be going down in about a month, so Krillin and I have been on watch duty when we have time. It would really put my mind at ease if you could pick up some of the slack, cover the day shifts...** "

" **Yeah, yeah. I'll watch your _not really sister_ for ya, but you owe me for this.**" Vegeta huffed as he slumped on his bed and saw the outline of the woman slink on her bed before she turned out the light. Kakarot's laugh could be heard through the phone grabbing his attention again.

" **Oh please, I know you like her. You would tell me to shove it if you didn't find some pleasure in watching her day and night...for her protection of course.** " He teased over the line and full out laughed at Vegeta's stuttered denials.

" **I-that...I-it's not like that! Fuck off Kakarot, go home to the harpy and let me do my job!** " Vegeta pulled the phone away from his face and hit the end call button so hard his screen almost cracked. Sitting on his bed, Vegeta grumbled and pulled off his pants to slip in under the covers in his boxers. He was far too tired to do any of his bedtime rituals, and had just closed his eyes when his phone buzzed on the nightstand. Snatching it with an irritated growl, he flipped it open to see a message from his partner.

_[In all honesty man, I really owe you one for this. And who knows, you might get lucky and catch her eye with this, even though you messed up with 'babe' thing. She knew who you were as well as things I never told her about our busts and I only mentioned your name once when talking to her. :P]_

Vegeta groaned and replied with an eye roll emoji along with _[_ _yeah right...]_ text. He was about to put the phone back on his side table when it buzzed again with another message.

_[I'm serious. Kami knows she needs someone that can take her shit and dish it back without it ending in violence. Besides, I think you'll find you both are a lot alike.]_

Vegeta snorted and replied back quickly.

_[You mean hot tempered, rough around the edges, and completely unable to taken anyone's bullshit?]_

Kakarot's three dotted reply started before he even finished his final re-read of his message after he sent it. In less than two seconds his partner's reply cause him to clench his jaw as it hit a bit too close for Vegeta's comfort.

_[No, I mean lonely. You both just want someone to look deep enough to understand the real you and not what people see on the surface.]_

Vegeta sighed and flung his head back into the pillow as he stared at his ceiling before he typed out his last text message for the night.

_[Quit texting while your driving or I'll fucking write you up and fine you myself, you fool.]_

Vegeta turned his head to look one last time to the window that showed the apartment across the way, his mind racing with Kakarot's words. One last buzz from his phone had him looking down to see his partner's farewell.

_[Aw Geets! I knew you really cared! :D Night partner!]_

Snorting out loud and shaking his head, Vegeta placed his phone on the end table and slunk under the covers deeper. Placing his hand behind his head, he stared at the ceiling as he thought about the woman across the street from him that his partner was convince was just like him. A cocky smirk crept up the corners of his mouth and he slowly fell into a deep, blackout sleep.

_ Sometimes you dance _

Another four days passed before the blinds went up in the living room on her side. Vegeta was sitting in his favorite armchair re-wrapping his soft cast in the shadows of the late afternoon sun when he saw the movement. He smirked to himself before it faltered as a young blond woman with ice blue, cold eyes was seen as the culprit. Vegeta paused in his movements to to not draw attention to himself and caught sight of another woman's profile, one he knew already. Kakarot's wife was moving the furniture to the side with a hardy push. They were dressed in yoga pants, sport bras and heels? He grimaced at the thought of watching them prance around and do ridiculous poses, and he almost stood up to lower his own blinds before he saw her. Bulma had run over and was arguing with the blond about the blinds before the blond pointed out that there was no one watching.

Vegeta slunk as low as he could and for once was grateful he had the setting sun to glare in the opposite side of the building. They wouldn't be able to see him sitting in his chair as long as he didn't move or draw attention to himself. Bulma tried to shade her eyes from the glare of the sun and look into his apartment, for a moment Vegeta feared she would find him sitting there like a creeper. Bulma she shrugged and walked over to join them on the carpet. All three had strange devices on their wrists and each blinked with a different color, finally the blond stood up next to Bulma and the both took a pose. Vegeta cursed under his breath as he glared at the group that had inadvertently trapped him into watching their exercise yoga class.

Or so he thought, until both started to dance in sync together. Bulma's movements were flirty and fluid, her hips snapping and rotating in seductive patterns. Her hands running over her body like hot syrup, while she winked and bit her lip coyly to an invisible audience. The blond wasn't bad either, but her movements were more snappy and robotic, almost like she was popping each joint or moving along with some invisible thread. Both had different styles, yet it was Bulma's form and movements that had Vegeta enthralled, unable to look away. When she bent over to thrust her lush ass in the air, smacking it with her hand as she rolled back up, Vegeta's pulse spiked. When she slid to her knees and imitated riding something, or someone, Vegeta felt his face flush and his breath come in short quick gasps. When she slowly slid to the ground, ass up in the air and her back arched, before pulling it back up and rotating her hips in a circular motion while biting her lip with a heated look, Vegeta gripped his arm rests tightly and groaned loudly while biting his own lip to prevent him from cursing.

The more time that passed with the girls continuing their dance, the more Vegeta realized he REALLY should not be there, and if he was found out now it would be horribly embarrassing for him. Not to mention it would just add to the creepiness factor, and he found he really didn't want Bulma to think of him as some perverted, peeping tom. Watching for a lull in their dancing to find the perfect opportunity to escape, Vegeta had his chance when a delivery man came to the door and distracted all three. Moving as fast as he could, He jumped over the back of his armchair, ignoring the slight ache in his ribs and dashed to the kitchen to hide behind the counter. Taking a few moments to calm his racing heart and get himself back under control, Vegeta stood to see they had gathered on the pushed back couch and were eating their meals.

' _Thank Kami they didn't see me..._ ' He thought as he opened the door to his fridge and grabbed a sport bottle to help cool himself down. He watched the girls giggle, laugh, and tease each other in their own way for a few minutes before having a devious idea. He could get the woman back for her earlier comment with the help of her friends. Smirking as he shed any extra clothes, stripping down to his work our spandex and tank top, Vegeta moved to his self installed pull up bar. Careful not to show too much of his face, he turned his back to the woman as he flicked on his living room light and went to grab the bar to do his thirty reps. It was easy compared to the hundred and fifty he use to do everyday before he busted his ribs. Using both arms to pull himself up, the pain was relatively minimal as he made sure to go at a slow pace so his muscles flexed in the light.

Switching to one arm, he shifted his view to glance at the mirror in front of him to catch the ogling stares of the woman behind him. His wide grin showed his canines as he saw the blond take out her phone to snap pictures as well as Kakarot's wife, probably to send to her husband to tell him the Vegeta was pushing himself too hard. However, it was the unabashed heated stare of the cerulean haired beauty that had his ego inflating. She bit her nail and wrapped one arm firmly under her breasts as he watched her eyes move up and down with his every movement. Vegeta was now glistening from the work out and still had one last one-armed rep to go, he dropped down gently and turned his head to look over his shoulder.

His eyes took on the cheers of the blond and the crossed arms of Chi-Chi, but settled on the deep blue of Bulma's desired filled eyes. Placing his hands on his hips he turned fully around, and gave the beauty a sly wink before jumping back up to the bar. He saw her shift in her seat awkwardly before the blond pulled her up from it and drew her closer to the window. Vegeta pulled up slowly with both hands before switching to one again, placing the other behind his back. He saw her cross her arms around her waist and shuffle her legs, but Bulma's eyes never left his form. His wolfish grin back in full force, Vegeta decided to give her one last hit. He finished his last ten pull ups with added abdomen crunches from side to side, flexing his well defined eight pack he took months to achieve when he was just a rookie on the force.

He finished his rep and once again dropped down with a soft thud. The blond had gotten out her lipstick and wrote {10/10} on the window which had Kakarot's wife rear her head back and laugh. He watched as the blue haired woman slowly walked up to the window and pause for a moment. Unable to stop himself, Vegeta bent into a bow and stood with a cocky smirk plastered on his face. Bulma reached up with a defiant glare and used a napkin to rub a zero from one of the tens to make the sign read {1-/10} and stuck out her tongue. Vegeta reared back his head and laughed, hard, harder than he's laughed in years.

 _'Oh_ _you're a feisty one alright..._ ' He thought with a giddy rush. Grabbing one of his dry erase markers from his white board attached to the fridge, he turned back to the woman and started to write back on his own window.

_{Liar!}_

His grin split his face and his eyes glinted with laughter as she blushed deeply, she quickly moved to pull the blinds down against the complaints of her blond friend. He couldn't help but think he finally found the woman's weakness. She really liked how he looked, and like it even more when he worked out. She would tease and he wasn't afraid to tease back. Vegeta crossed his arms and watched the blinds fidget and move as Bulma was trying to convince her blond friend that the show was over.

' _Oh its just beginning! Just you wait, woman..._ ' He thought as he stood there grinning like a mad man.

_Sometimes you read_

This time it only took three days, and two of those Vegeta made sure to work out every other day with his blinds up. It was one of his work out days in which he picked his time from five to six pm, just before dinner, that he realized he had an audience. He had grabbed his sports bottle and placed it on the counter near his designated work out area along with a sweat towel. Turning to face the window and start his arm curls, he paused for a heartbeat to see the woman curled up on the couch with a blanket and a book in her lap. The lamp that was sitting on the side table next to her was on and angled into her lap, casting her face in soft shadows with its dim glow. Vegeta turned back to pick up his weight and hide his grin from her before setting his face in a nonchalant mask and set himself down to start with his right arm. Dressed in his white tank and work out spandex, Vegeta's bicep bulged as he subtly watched the woman on the couch and counted his reps. Vegeta noticed that every time he finished a rep and shook out the strained muscle, flexing it in the light, the woman would shift and readjust herself with her book.

Vegeta couldn't help the smirk that snaked across his lips each time he flexed his triceps with his outward curls. Bulma was now taking twice as long to finish a page, and shifting her weight more often. Huffing with his last rep, he stood up to grab a swig from his electrolyte water. He was now sweating decently, and decided to test out his theory on the woman. Wiping down his neck with his sweat towel he tossed it next to him on his bench and stood with his profile to the window. Taking the hem of his shirt he started to slowly lift it to take it off, but paused mid way around his pecs. Turning his head quickly, he looked to catch Bulma blatantly staring at him before she quickly averted her eyes and slunk down deeper into the couch. Vegeta waited till she eventually ventured to give him a curious look at his frozen pose, and he raised one eyebrow at her with a Cheshire grin revealing his white teeth. Her brows furrowed as she placed her book down in her lap to watch him with interest.

Vegeta released his shirt and grabbed his dry erase maker as he walked up to the window. Grinning widely, he wrote out a question for her on his window.

_{on/off ?}_

Capping the pen he looked up to see her baffled face turn to one of embarrassment and she buried her nose deep in her book to ignore him. He chuckled lightly to himself and went back to resume the rest of his work out. Five minutes had passed and he noticed she was back to subtly watching him. Her book had lowered so low in her lap he doubted she was actually able to make out many of the words. Stopping in his rep to look back up at her, he grinned devilishly again and pointed to the question on the window. Vegeta watched her fiddle with a few of the pages in her book while she nibbled on her bottom lip in thought. Slowly, she lifted her hands up in the air and hesitated for two seconds before clapping her hands and turning off her back light from her kitchen. She refused to look at him and he could barely see the growing blush tinge her cheeks.

' _Kami, she's fucking adorable..._ ' He thought with a chuckle and raised both his eyebrows with a shrug and removed his shirt. Grabbing his dumbell again, he raised both arms behind his head and used the weight to work out his under arm. His biceps and triceps flexed and shivered in the light next to his face along with his pectorals. He smirked as the woman looked up more than once to observer better with a quick glance. Finally finishing his rep, he set the weight down with a heavy sigh and shook out his arms, rotating his shoulder cuffs to stretch out his strained pectorals. Standing up and grabbing his marker and a dry eraser, he walked up to the window and wiped his previous question clean. Uncapping his pen, he stared straight into her quizzical eyes before writing out a new question.

_{Still 1-/10?}_

He smirked as he capped the pen and saw her stifle a smile behind her book. Lowering her book slightly after gaining a straight face, she shrugged and waved her hand in a so-so gesture with a dismissive scrunch of her nose. Vegeta placed his hand on his hips and tilted his head to the side with a disbelieving look on his face that said ' _You're kidding, right?'_ Bulma pulled her knees up to her chest and bit her bottom lip as she played with a thread at the spine of her book. Looking as though she was deciding on something crucial, she kicked off her blanket and reached over to grab a marker from the coffee table. Vegeta's brow's raised in surprise once more as he realized that between the time of their last encounter, she had bought dry erase markers. He really didn't want to get ahead of himself but he was secretly hoping she bought them to speak with him. She rushed up to the window and uncapped her pen to write out something on it. He noticed that she was wearing cotton, light pink boyshorts underneath a very large, baggy T shirt that acted like a dress or robe. As she wrote one side of her shoulder fell bare and he suddenly realized she had nothing on underneath it BUT the boyshorts. Shaking his head to bring him back to the present he decided to save this image for later and read her finished answer.

_{3/10 cast in way}_

He tilted his head back and roared out in laughter as the cheeky woman grinned and bit her nail in response to his reaction. ' _Why you little minx, two can play at that game..._ ' He thought slyly and shook his head from side to side, holding up his hand he nodded to her as if saying ' _Alright, you win._ ' Vegeta went back to his pull up bar and tossed the marker and eraser on his bench before taking a long swig of his electrolyte water again. Facing away from the window, he hopped up to grab the bar then threaded his legs through his arms and hooked the back of his knees around the bar. Letting go of the bar with his hands, he hung upside down by his legs and placed his hands behind his head. He smirked as he saw the woman curled up back on the couch watching him, but her book was barely open as he stared at her from upside down. Lifting his frame by his waist, Vegeta proceeded to do his ab crunches and his smile grew slightly wider every time he straightened down to catch the woman watching him completely. By his third rep he was starting to tired out and get light headed, so he decided he had done enough for now. Besides the woman hadn't looked at her book for a solid five minutes, she had just fiddled with the spine of the cover.

He took his time and gently dropped back down to the ground, taking care to not exacerbate his fractured ribs. He shifted to face the window one last time and grabbed the eraser and marker, removing his previous question he wrote out another.

_{Good book?}_

She looked down and nodded, her thumb gently fiddling with the pages. Vegeta smirked as he wrote out his final message, smiling wolfishly as he capped the top back on his pen.

_{Must be, takes you 30 mins to read 5 pgs}_

Bulma gasped and turned beet red as she jumped up and ran to shut the blinds once more, but not before sending him a death glare and sticking her tongue out in one final attempt to get back at him. Vegeta just chuckled and crossed his arms as he watched the plastic white shades slowly lower till they covered the whole window, once again shutting her off from view. ' _Vegeta: 2 Bulma: 1_ ' He mentally crowed to himself and moved to go take his shower before dinner.

_ TV dinners, fall asleep _

Feeling refreshed from his shower, Vegeta walked over to the fridge in just a pair of sweat pants. He was trying to let his torso air out from wearing the cast so as to not get sores or chaffing. Opening the freezer part, he solemnly looked over his pathetic prospects of a meal. He had either Hungry Man chicken steak and a poor attempt of mashed potatoes, or Hungry Man beef stroganoff that tasted like cardboard and steamed rice that tasted like cotton. Rubbing his hand over his eyes, he sighed dejectedly as he mentally told himself for the fifth time this week he really needed to go out and get groceries. Grabbing the chicken steak, he followed the instructions, popped it in the microwave, and hit the button to cook. Moving back into the living room area he saw with surprise the blinds had been drawn up half way in the woman's apartment as she sat on her couch watching her TV with a microwaved container in her lap in her same outfit as before.

' _Looks like she's too busy as well..._ ' He thought with a smile, and watched her for a few minutes before his food pinged done in the microwave. Walking over to grab it, Vegeta also grabbed his marker and wrote in the top corner of his window a little score board reading, _{V:II B:I}_. Taking his food to his armchair Vegeta sat down with his meal in his lap, switched the marker for his phone, and proceeded to watch the last UFC matches he missed. After five minutes of eating his flavorless, cardboard meal along with watching some lesser know fighters win a few of their debut matches, Vegeta felt that same tingling sensation down his neck and spine. He looked up to see the woman watching him with her head tilted to the side in a questioning gesture. He matched her blue eyes and held her gaze until she nodded her head toward his scoreboard at the corner of his window. 

He smirked at her curiosity, click his phone off, and stood up to write on his window.

_{Arguments, Wins...V, B}_

At the letter V he pointed to himself, at the letter B he pointed to her. He smirked as her eyes narrowed and she gave a curt nod. He grabbed the eraser and wiped the window clean and looked up to see her writing back. Vegeta scrunched his eyes to try and see what she wrote but ended up shaking his head at her gaze and made to clap his hands. She frowned in thought before recognition lit up her face and she clapped her hand to turn on her back kitchen light so her writing would be illuminated. Vegeta held a thumbs up as he went to read her message. He couldn't help but smile widely at the fact that here they were, less than fifteen feet away in different buildings, both with cell phones yet they were communicating with dry erase markers on windows.

_{TV Dinner?}_

Vegeta nodded and wrote out his response as she cleaned her window.

_{Hungry Man, Chicken Steak}_

He placed the cap back on his pen and watched as she read his message and visually gagged, tongue out and nose scrunched. Vegeta chuckled and nodded before pointing to her and writing a big question mark. Bulma nodded and wrote out with a smirk plastered on her lips.

_{Left-overs from Chi-Chi}_

Vegeta groaned as he looked up at his ceiling and slumped his head against the window with a thunk. He glared at the smug woman across the way as she cleaned her window and giggled. She wrote out another short question and pointed to him with a shrug.

_{Cook?}_

Vegeta sighed heavily and scratched his temple before running a hand through his hair. Uncapping his pen he wrote his reply with a worn out look.

_{No time + not home}_

Bulma furrowed her brows at his answer and pointed to him before spreading her arms out to show he was here in front of her now. Vegeta nodded and wiped his previous answer clean before writing out the answer, the one his boss told him almost a week ago.

_{"Paid Vacation"}_

Vegeta reached over to turn up his lights more and ran a hand to display his uncovered and heavily black and purple, bruised ribs. Bulma's face tilted back as her mouth form that words 'Ah!' and she nodded in understanding. She cleaned the window again and wrote out another question while pointing to him then to her own ribs.

_{Drug Bust last week?}_

Vegeta nodded as he wiped the window clean again and he wrote out his answer, smirking as he capitalized each letter of the last word.

_{Kakarot, HEAVY}_

Bulma clutched her stomach and laughed hard, bowing over as she braced one hand on the window. He face was twisted up in the most beautiful expression of joy Vegeta had ever seen as tears begin to collect at her eyes. He couldn't help but notice her shirt hung out enough that the top of her breasts and collar bone flashed at him under the rustling fabric as she moved. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she nodded at him with a silly grin.

' _Wish I could have heard what her laugh sounded like..._ ' He thought sadly to himself before placing his hand parallel to hers after wiping clean his window. They stared at each other through the glass for a minute before she visibly flushed and fidgeted, Vegeta knew he should wrap this up before she regretted it and shut him out due to embarrassment. Wouldn't be the first time something like that happened to him, and he really didn't want to chance that with her. His focused got pulled back to the present with her wild waving and he noticed she had written something again.

_{You ok?}_

Something inside of Vegeta flinched at those words and the look she was giving him, the look many women before had given him before walking away. _P_ _i_ _ty_. His mind was whirling with turmoil, he nervously popped the cap of his marker on and off as he tried to think of how to respond. As the minutes passed by, her look grew more and more concerned and she placed her hands back on the window as if to reach out to him. Her genuine look made him want to tell her the truth, even if just for a split second. However, he shook his head before finally writing out his answer with a bitter smile.

_{Bored, Night B}_

Before he could properly see her reaction to his message, he turned to switch off the lights and caught a glimpse of her confused, and hurt look before pounding her hand against to glass to get his attention. Quickly turning his back to her, he pulled his blinds down for the first time on her and went back to his cold meal. Wishing he could have had things last a bit longer before she would eventually walk away like all the others, Vegeta forced himself to eat his tasteless meal. He was sure it tasted like ash because of how horrible he felt right now. 

' _Well, At least you have a few good memories to tide you over..._ ' He thought morosely to himself before clicking back on his phone and watching the rest of the fights.

_Do I ever cross your mind_

Two hours later, Vegeta forced himself out of his chair and paused at the window with his blinds still closed. There was a light coming from the woman's apartment that seemed to shine at his window. Unable to stop his curiosity, he pulled down a small section and peeked through to the apartment across from him. Her blinds were fully open and she had curled up into a very uncomfortable looking bean bag, she must have pulled it to the window to wait for him to come back. He noticed she had fallen asleep after writing a message for him and angling her lamp to light it up so he could read it. Vegeta's heart constricted at the sight of her calm sleeping face wrapped in her blanket, but his heart beat with a bittersweet pang as he read her words for him.

_{I'm here}_

Vegeta was ashamed to admit it, he kept his blinds closed for the next two days. He couldn't stand the thought of the woman seeing him weak like this, lonely and sad. He knew she left them open for him during the day, occasionally waiting by her message still left on the window in big blocked out letters. At night she would close them but always angle her lamp to light up her message like a bat signal in the sky. Vegeta peeked through the blinds on the third day and saw the message was still there, if only slightly changed. Yesterday day it had her hand outlined with marker, today she had wiped off the _here_ part and rewrote _STILL_ _here._

_Through your window in the sky_

Vegeta knew he had to stop this stand off when Kakarot texted him that night to check up on him. Hearing his phone buzz lightly on his coffee table as he stared at his closed blinds, Vegeta moved to answer it.

_[So B asked me to check up on you, what's going on?]_

Vegeta clicked his tongue at the text and growled, he didn't like it being known he was actively avoiding her and now even his partner knew as well. Walking up to the window, he peeked once more through the blinds to see her on her couch with a device in her lap, tinkering with it. Looking back at his phone, Vegeta quickly typed out his reply and sent it.

_[Nothing, just had the blinds down for a few days. Don't worry I still have been watching for Yamcha.]_

He looked back up through his small opening in his blinds to see her looking up at his window. He watched with concern as she tilted her head, pausing in her tinkering and reached for her phone. She was answering a text and he saw her face furrow in a disapproving frown before hastily replying. Looking back up at his window, Bulma's cheeks puffed out in anger and she tossed her phone and the device on the couch before getting up. Vegeta's phone buzzed again grabbing his attention, and he looked down to see his partner had asked another question.

_[She's not buying it and neither am I. Want me to give her your number?]_

Vegeta chewed his bottom lip in thought as he looked up to see the woman write in big bold letters under her previous message.

_{COWARD}_

He internally winced and saw her huffed angrily back, knowing she could probably see the small looking hole he made in the blinds. He was about to turn back to his phone and write his partner back, when something caught his eye in the apartment hallway window. The man he was tasked to watch out for was walking toward her door slowly, as if trying to be silent. Vegeta didn't give it a second thought as he flung the blinds over his shoulder and pressed himself to the window. Pulling the marker from his pocket, he wrote as fast as he could...

_{LOCK DOOR}_

He looked up to see her confused, furrowed brows read his message and he slammed his open palm against the window to grab her attention. _NOW,_ he mouthed as she looked up to him with startled eyes. He watched with apprehension as she ran to her door and turned the deadbolt just in time as Yamcha tried to open it. Vegeta quickly called his partner and pressed the cell to his ear. As the call rang, he watched Bulma timidly step back from the door, hands over her ears as she quickly shook her head with a no. He could see through the hallway window Yamcha was banging and shouting at her door.

" **Hey Geets, wh-** " Kakarot's cheerful voice came through as the call clicked over before Vegeta sharply barked out over him. " **SHUT UP! Send someone over to Bulma's NOW! The guy's back...** " His partner's serious tone came through the phone as he answered back quickly. " **I'm four minutes away.** " Vegeta heard a sharp click signaling the end of the call as silence filled his apartment. He looked over to see Bulma had moved to her bedroom and shut the door, her blinds in the smaller window drawn closed. Vegeta wiped his message clean from his window and stepped back from between the blinds. Watching the man slam his shoulder into the door a few times, Vegeta couldn't help but think that it was a good thing he was looking her way at that moment and was able to warn her. Yamcha was livid, his face was red from yelling.

A small movement caught Vegeta's eye near the woman's bedroom window, and he turned to see her small face peek out at him from the blinds. He ran over to his bedroom and pulled his own blinds up to show himself to her terrified gaze. Vegeta quickly took his marker and wrote out his message to her and point to himself.

_{Called Kakarot}_

She placed her hand against her window as some of the tension left her face with his words. Vegeta placed his own hand instinctively back on his window, his face slipping the calm composed mask into one of empathy. Bulma's head jolted up and turned back to her front door, and Vegeta quickly looked to see the man was no longer there. Vegeta stayed with her at his window till a buzz from his phone alerted him to his partner's presence. He saw the woman run to her door and unlock it to let him in, Kakarot grabbed her in a hug and soothed her shaking, crying form. Vegeta breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to see the picture message sent to him by his partner.

Kakarot's text message was posted under the image. The image was of a piece of paper taped to the woman's door and on it in shaky, cramped writing it said...

_Bitches are snitches, and you know what snitches get._

_[Found it taped to her door. No sign of perp.]_

Vegeta's grim face took in the image as he gripped his phone tightly in his hand. He made a decision that moment that no matter what happened between him and the woman, he would leave his blinds up as long as she was across the way. He would watch out for this creep every chance he got and try to warn her or Kakarot if needed. Moving back over to his living room, he tugged the blinds up and watched his partner try to talk and convince an agitated and angry Bulma. Vegeta looked on with a smirk, until her eyes turned to his and she locked her gaze with his. Nodding her head she mouthed _t_ _hank you_ to him, Vegeta only nodded his head back in return before turning around and going about the rest of his day.

_ When you forget to close the blinds _

It was right around the end of week three when things would forever change between them as far as window watching was concerned. Vegeta had just returned from grocery shopping, plunking his bags on the counter when he looked up to see the blinds on both her windows were up.

' _That's strange, usually she always has the bedroom blinds down._ ' He thought with a frown. Walking up to his living room window, Vegeta saw no signs of the woman anywhere. Concerned for her sudden disappearance and change of habit, he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and flicked through his contacts. Vegeta was so distracted in is attempt to text his partner that when he looked back up to check her window again, his mind didn't register completely what he saw. His eyes widened when he moved back to look at his phone and quickly shot back up to the scene unfolding before him.

The woman had come fresh out of the shower, wrapped in a tightly clad, very short blue towel around her frame. Tucked in at her breasts, it barely reached past her rear just covering enough to leave her 'decent.' Vegeta couldn't help but stare open mouthed as she moved to her dresser and pulled out her underwear. The black lacy garment flashed in her hand before she bent down, back to him, and snaked it through her legs. He gripped his phone tight in his hand as the silky, cheeky-cut underwear skimmed up her thighs, under her towel, and pulled over the most lush, milky white, perfect ass he'd ever seen. Her next move had him swallowing loudly in the darken silence of his apartment. Her hands moved to the top of her towel, hesitating for a brief heartbeat before she removed it and let it fall to the floor.

Vegeta groaned with a growl and grabbed his shirt around his chest, his blood heating his battered body as he beheld her bare back. He could see the side of one voluptuously curved breast, as her arms moved to put her matching black lacy bra on. Curling her hands around her back to snap it on, she tuned toward the window and paused. Vegeta's mouth went dry and his body strained against the confines of his clothes as he panted heavily. Bulma had a small smile grace her lips and with one swift movement, she adjusted her bust. Tugging her bra straps up, she made her breasts bounce and jiggle in their silky prison.

' _Fucking HELL!'_ He thought with desperate cry, and tried to subtly adjust himself in the dark. He slumped to his armchair and sighed heavily, it had been so long since he saw a female form like this. He blushed hard as he covered his face with his hand, thinking to himself how much he truly was become a creeping pervert these days. He wasn't sure if she had forgot to close them, or had deliberately left the open while he was gone. However, the fact was he had just watched her get dressed and couldn't deny that he really, REALLY liked it. Feeling the sensation of being watched again, Vegeta looked up to see the woman in the living room with a long sleeved, short green maxi dress now covering her form. She was giving him the biggest, cockiest, Cheshire cat grin he's ever seen on her.

He watched as she grabbed her marker and wrote out a message for him to read. Standing up with some effort, Vegeta walked over to grab his own and walked to the window.

_{Enjoy the show?}_

He paused with wide eyes as she smirked and rested her hand on her hip that was cocked to the one side. It was then he realized she _knew_ the blinds were up and he was watching her when she got dressed. A lance of hot desire flooded through his veins, and he struggled to contain his evidence of just how _much_ he enjoyed it. He uncapped his marker, wrote her back, and gave her a sly wink.

_{Hell yeah! 10/10}_

He saw her mouth open in a laugh as she tried to cover it with her hand, her face flushed pink. Nibbling on the corner of her bottom lip she went back to the window, wiping it clean, and wrote out another response.

_{Good! Night V}_

Capping her pen, she tossed it on the table behind her and walked up to the window, placing both hands to brace herself. She then leaned forward and pressed her lips against the glass in a kiss, and left a kiss mark next to the _V_ in her message. Pulling back with a wide grin she gave him a flirty wink before waving goodbye and grabbing her purse to exit her apartment door. Vegeta couldn't help the giddy, loopy grin that was spiting his face and making his cheeks hurt with its effort. He watched the woman leave and shook his head in disbelief as he moved back to put away his groceries.

' _Vegeta:2, Bulma:2._ _What a woman..._ ' He thought as he moved to fix the score in the corner of his window. She had got him good with that one.

_ So do I _

Two days after, Vegeta decided to launch his counterattack. He made sure all his blinds were up and Bulma was around before he went to take his evening shower. Vegeta left the steamy bathroom with water still glistening on his arms and chest. His short white towel he usually used for his workouts hung low on his hips, he had wrapped tightly around his waist leaving little to the imagination as to what lay beneath. Strutting over to his small dresser, he pulled open his drawer to 'look' for clothes. He had planned to have everything either in the wash or in the hamper so he would have to walk through his living room to his washer in the tiny towel. Faking agitation, he slammed his drawer shut and stalked out of his bedroom to the washer/dryer combo in the corner near his workout bench. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flurry of movement near her couch and the light flicked off in her apartment. It took all of Vegeta's will power to keep from grinning like a fool and keep his face straight.

Reaching the dryer with his back to the window, he pulled out a pair of boxers and bent to slip them on. He paused with the boxer sitting on his knees and straighten up. Looking over his shoulder with a mischievous grin right at the dark of her apartment to where her couch was, he tugged the towel off with one swift motion. He took his time and pulled the boxers up and over his toned ass with deliberate slowness. Vegeta then turned to face the window, crossed his arms, and stared in her direction. Still seeing no movement in the dark, he reached down to the waistband of his boxers in the front and pulled it out to have it snap back against the v of his lower abdomen. With a smug smile, he strutted up to the window, and pulled his marker from it's holder he had made earlier against the window. Uncapping the top, Vegeta grinned devilishly and wrote out the answer she had given him almost a week and a half ago.

_{Still 3/10?}_

He paused and waited for her move, watching the darkness for any sign from the gorgeous woman. After waiting for two minutes and she refused to stir, Vegeta shrugged and wrote under his previous question.

_{Who's a coward now?}_

Just as he underlined the word coward, Bulma flung herself at the window with a thunk. Her red, flushed face pulled into an angry scowl as her dark sapphire eyes gleamed in the low light of the evening. Her chest heaving with deep angry breaths, making her crop top, red camisole rise and fall with the movement. He took in her long legs in the shortest booty shorts he's seen and grinned, she was dressed for appeal not for comfort. Wiping away his words, Vegeta watched her with an amused smile and a cocked eyebrow. Her face grew more flustered by the moment, then suddenly she turned around to grab her marker and write on her window. In big blocky capitalized letters she wrote out, 

_{JERK!!!}_

Vegeta reared his head back with a laugh as she angrily underlined the word three times before tossing her marker. Reaching to add a tally point to his score, he gave her a sly wink. Before he could doubt himself, he drew a big heart and gave the woman a small seductive kiss before turning and retreating to the kitchen. He spent the next few minutes preparing his dinner only to hear his phone buzz on the counter behind him. Shooting a glance back over his shoulder, he saw Bulma had drawn her blinds for the night. Picking up his phone, he saw that there was a message from his partner. Curious to what the fool had to say to him so late at night, Vegeta flicked open his phone and had to stifle a laugh.

_[B is super upset and DEMANDING your number. What the hell did you do?!?]_

His evil smirk pasted on his lips, he replied back vaguely.

_[Nothing, just a little payback...]_

Setting his phone back down on the counter, he went to dish out his stir-fry as his phone buzzed once more. Grabbing it as he passed by, he went to go sit in his armchair and checked his phone.

_[Score?]_

He smirked back and typed the score that was written on his window. Placing the phone on the armrest of his chair, He started to eat his meal while watching the woman's window as the lights flicked on in the kitchen. Another buzz had him look over and check his phone.

_[Ah, no wonder. I'm giving you her number because I'm done playing goalie at all hours of the day. You decide when you want to stop keeping score.]_

Vegeta's smile left his face as he stared at the number Kakarot texted him. What would he say? Or worse, would she even want him to text or call? Saving the number regardless in his contacts under _Woman,_ Vegeta tossed his phone onto the coffee table and ran a hand dejectedly through his hair as he slunk deeper into his chair. Either way it would be good to have her number if the creep showed up again, even more if he showed up waiting for her to return. Keeping his eyes on the shadowy figure moving behind the blinds across from him, Vegeta slowly finished his meal as he watched her window for the rest of the night before bed.

_I see you,_ _Check your phone_

Vegeta fought with himself for three days before he finally caved. It was the weekend and although Bulma hadn't kept her blinds down the whole time, she hadn't wrote on the window to him or removed her previous message. She had headed out earlier and been gone for five hours, not that he was counting. He was halfway through his workout, when he glanced up for the hundredth time to see her through the apartment hallway window. She had stumbled and was being followed by and eager, average height, chubby, blonde hair man. Vegeta froze in his pull up to watch as the man advanced on her, his hands attempted to roam her body while she quickly dug through her purse for her keys. She was dressed in a hot little number, a red strapless dress with a sweet-heart neckline that plunged slightly, giving her some killer cleavage. The ankle length silky material had a high slit near her right hip, framing either side of her long creamy legs whenever she walked. She turned to face the man and put one hand against his chest in an attempt to push him back and give herself some space. With her back to Vegeta, he saw that the back of her dress was a lace up. It looked like the sleaze had tried to pull at her strings when she had had her back to the man.

That was the final straw for Vegeta, he went over to his phone and quickly typed in a message to her. Bulma pushed against the man harder holding her hand up in a 'just one minute' gesture. She dug through her clutch and pulled her phone out desperately, her brows furrowed at the unrecognizable number and the message with it. 

_[Window]_

She turned her head quickly to look his way and saw Vegeta standing there with his phone in hand as another message rang through. She turned back to the man trying to demand her attention and checked her phone to see his message.

_[Need help?]_

A small smile graced her lips and she put her phone behind her back as she typed back to him while trying to dissuade the blond man in front of her. Vegeta felt the buzz go off in his hand, and looked to see she had replied with precision.

_[Please...]_

He quickly pressed the call button before he chickened out and held it up to his ear. Vegeta watched as the woman tried to still the man's advances again and the call clicked over with her soft voice coming over the phone. " **Just one second Daryl. Hi daddy!** " Her response stunned Vegeta into silence for a moment as she continued to speak on the other end. " **No, I'm not busy right now. What do you need?** " Vegeta shook his head to gather his thoughts back and growled low over the line.

" **The fuck were you thinking woman! Are you just naturally a magnet for creeps!** " Her fake gasp came over the line and he could hear the groan of the man in the background. 

" **That is bad news! You sure you can't just leave it for tomorrow?** " Vegeta huffed back in return and waited for her to finish her plan of escape. " **No, it's just Daryl from work, you know? He was kind enough to walk me home from the award ceremony.** "

" **Kind enough my ass...** " Vegeta grumped on the other line and was pleased when she couldn't stifle a giggle on the other side.

" **Oh daddy, your funny! Daryl would NEVER do something like that to jeopardize his job, right Daryl?** " Vegeta smirked at the woman's clever wording and tone as he watched her give an accusing stare at the nervous blond man. He could hear the man's timid mutterings to leave and watched as the man turned to hurry away. " **Ok bye, Daryl! Thanks again!** " She voiced with fake enthusiasm before muttering " **Good riddance...** " under her breath.

" **Daddy?** " Vegeta questioned though the phone as Bulma pulled out her keys, unlocked her door and entered her apartment. He heard her sighing heavily on the other side before laughing lightly.

" **He's powerful enough to scare even the people on the Capsule Corp. board of trustees. Thanks for this by the way, the guy was getting a bit too much to handle.** " She said as she tossed her key into the dish with a clink and walked to her couch to flop down on it. Vegeta slunk into his armchair as he held the phone close to his ear, he watched with interest as the woman bent down to take her high heeled shoes off.

Vegeta hummed in agreement, the sound low and rumbling in his chest as he took in the view of her breasts pressed up against her knees, almost billowing out of her dress. " **I'll say it again, the _fuck_ were you thinking?**" His voice held a growl and Bulma paused for a moment before kicking off her shoes. She leaned back into her couch, crossing her right leg over her left and letting the material around her legs slip away to reveal them.

" **I was thinking it would be nice to have someone walk me home because lately I've had someone repeatedly show up _unannounced._** " She said back with a bit of a bite in her tone as she reached up to unpin her hair and let it fall in cascading waves to her shoulders. He grumbled on the other side as he saw the logic in her thinking, yet he still didn't like the sleaze she ended up picking.

" **And that** **hot** **piece of garbage was your best option?** " He said with a snort and clicked his tongue. He watched as the woman looked up and locked eyes with him, her face unreadable.

" **Well...** " She said as she stood up and walked sensually to the window, her voice dripping like honey. " **There _is_ this one guy I wouldn't mind walking me home...**" She placed her hand against the window and Vegeta couldn't help the loud swallow that could be heard from him. " **But the jerk locks himself away from the world in his apartment, like a hermit, a homeboy.** " She said, giggling at her own joke.

Vegeta slunk down further in his chair, trying to hide himself from her piercing gaze. " **You're drunk.** " He grumbled out.

He saw her head tip back lightly as her laugh finally reached his ears though the phone, airy and seductive. " **And your afraid! You don't want anyone to get too close to hurt you. So instead you keep score and hope it will help stem the tide of loneliness.** "

Vegeta sat up with a snarl and snapped back at her angrily. " **What the hell do you know!** " He watched as her face took on that look, the same look he thought resembled pity in the past. Except this time she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at her feet.

" **Because I do the same thing...** " His stunned silence was her only answer and she took a deep breath as she plastered on a fake smile while lifting her head back up to look at him. " **I should get some sleep. Night V, and thanks again. Truly.** " She waved at him through the window as she clicked off the call and moved to go to her bedroom. Vegeta dropped his hand holding his phone in his lap as he watched her move wearily through her apartment. Typing a quick reply before he could second guess himself, Vegeta sent her a quick text message.

_[Make sure to drink some water before you sleep, or you'll regret it in the morning.]_

She paused at her door frame and looked down at the new text message, a small soft smile on her plush lips. Turning to head back to her fridge in the kitchen she shot him a reply. His phone buzzed as she opened the fridge door and grabbed a water bottle before she headed back to her bedroom.

_[Yes daddy.]_

Vegeta smirked at her cocky text and stood to add another mark to the score board making it read _{V:III, B:III}._ Capping his marker he gave one final fleeting look to see her close the blinds to her bedroom, the water bottle pressed against her lips as she took a sip. ' _Good girl._ ' He thought with a gentle smirk on his face and turned to finish his work out before heading to bed himself.

_ Wash the dishes _

Another two days passed and it was now the end of the month. Vegeta had kept to himself and held strong to not text or call the woman no matter how badly he wanted to. She in turn, didn't text him back and proceeded to just move about her day in her apartment. Although, she would occasionally glance his way and give him a small smile and wave when they would lock eyes. It was a Sunday, and the woman was home as usual and cleaning up her apartment, or attempting to. She was at the sink dancing more than washing dishes, and Vegeta couldn't help himself. His resistance crumbled and he swiftly shot her a text to tease her. Watching as she stopped her dance suddenly and quickly wiped her hands dry, Bulma reached for her phone to check for the message.

_[5/10, liked your last dance better.]_

Her head shot up and she turned to look at him standing at his window with his arms crossed and a smug smile. She strutted up to the window and typed out her rebuttal, stopping to pop one hip out to the side.

_[I had a feeling you were creeping on us during that dance practice.]_

Smiling deviously, Vegeta walked back to his armchair and plopped down in it as he shot her another teasing text.

_[It isn't creeping when you pull up the blinds to give me a show. It was an 8/10 at best, by the way.]_

Lifting her head with a huff after reading his message, Bulma's fingers flew over her phone with a heated challenge.

_[The hell it was! Fine, we learned a new one three days ago. Interested?]_

Vegeta's head shot up after reading her message and he saw her nervous tick of nibbling on her lower lip. He took a moment to think, tapping his phone against his knee softly before turning back to answer.

_[Alright, I'll be your audience if you need one.]_

He saw her giddy grin cross her lips as she proceeded to send him a link to a song with a short message attached to it.

_[Here's the song, I'll count down then you press play that way you can listen along.]_

Vegeta looked down to the link and tapped it to load up the song, he paused it and waited for her signal. He watched with a smirk as she moved her furniture around, as well as pulling the rug back on the hardwood. She dashed to her bedroom and returned with high heels in her hand, causing Vegeta to cock a brow curiously as she bent down and laced them on. Standing up she pulled her baggy grey sweater over her head and stood there in a over one shoulder, pink and black, sports bra and navy blue yoga pants. Reaching up to tug her ponytail free and let her hair fall around her shoulders, she looked to him with her phone in her hand as the other counted down from three. Vegeta's heart raced as he pressed play on the song when she finished her countdown, he saw her toss her phone to the side and start to [dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDhCuJ4Gi98https://youtu.be/CDhCuJ4Gi98?t=34). (link to the song and dance I envisioned Bulma doing in this scene.)

Vegeta tried to pay attention to the words of the song, but he was captivated by her movements. His jaw went slack as more time passed and Bulma slid across the floor of her apartment like a temptress. He gripped the arms of his chair with white knuckles as the song blared out the three rules the singer said she would follow. The third rule making his face flush with heat, his breath catching in his throat as she thrust her hips up and down on the ground, her perfect ass bouncing in the air.

' _Jeeeesus..._ ' He thought numbly before the song cut off with a loud ring, jolting him up in his chair. Irritated that he was being interrupted he hit the answer button and growled out " **WHAT?!** " in response.

" **Yikes! Did I call at a bad time?** " His partner's voice chirped though the speaker before Vegeta answered with a threatening growl. " **Nevermind, it doesn't matter. Just thought you would want to know that we arrested Tien Shinhan earlier today and he's being held on drug charges.** " Vegeta held a hand up to tell Bulma to stop and pointed to the phone. She was breathing heavily as she nodded and wiped the hair from her face. " **Looks like their sticking for now, so if you would stay put for the next few days while we try and wrap up lose ends.** " Kakarot said with a hopeful tone as Vegeta stood up and moved to the window to grab his marker and made to write to the woman across the way.

" **Of course, I'm all stocked up for a few days. Just shoot me a text when I can resupply and you can have someone cover for me.** " He said calmly with a stern tone as he finished writing his message.

_{Kakarot, arrested Shinhan}_

He watched her eyes widen and she moved to wrap her arms protectively around herself. Vegeta placed his hand against the window and gave her a tender, reassuring look before he shifted his focus back to his phone. " **You told her yet? She might have to get supplies as well...** " His partner's serious voice cut through his words and answered him.

" **Already thought of that, Krillin should be dropping by with some groceries and basic supplies later today before all hands are on deck.** " Vegeta grunted as he saw the woman rush to her phone and checked her messages, presumably being asked what she needed and told the situation. " **Still no sign of Yamcha yet, but chief said for the next four days he'll try to have a patrol within a five block radius swing by on the hour.** " Vegeta huffed out as he watched Bulma slump down on her couch and type furiously on her phone.

" **Fat load of good that did her when he tried that almost two weeks ago.** " His partner's hum of agreement made Vegeta's lips tighten grimly.

" **Yeah well, I guess that's why we're lucky we have you to keep an eye on things.** " Vegeta laughed bitterly and ran his hand through his hair, looking at the floor with a grimace.

" **Right, lucky.** " He let out a long sigh and braced his free arm against the window as he looked at Bulma's profile as she pushed her furniture back into place. " **Some vacation...** " He grouched out. Vegeta wiped his message clear from the window and turned to slink back into his armchair with a groan.

" **Hang in there buddy, keep looking at the bright side.** " Kakarot said with a sympathetic tone before hanging up. Vegeta tossed his phone gently on the coffee table and slid down deeper into his armchair with a scowl. He looked up to see Bulma had moved to the kitchen to continue to wash her dishes where she left off. His eyes caught a glimpse of writing on her window, and he shifted to sit up more to be able to read the message she left him.

_{Glad you're here}_

A soft crooked smile, graced his lips as Vegeta plunked his head across the back of his chair to stare up at his ceiling. ' _Bright side huh?_ ' He thought serenely as he closed his eyes and took in the quiet stillness of his apartment while he could.

_Fold the clothes_

Vegeta kept watch for the rest of the night, seeing Krillin drop off at least four to five bags full of groceries and basic supplies. They each both made dinner around eight and short of a few curious texts, relatively kept to themselves. It wasn't till ten pm that night that she came out to the living room with a basket full of clothes that Vegeta knew something was up. Usually she would take her laundry to the bedroom to fold the on her queen mattress where she would have more room. However, tonight she sat on the rug covering her floor in front of her couch and proceeded to fold her clothes right in front of the large window. Vegeta cocked a brow questioningly from his armchair with his laptop in his lap as he went over case files. He watched her glance up his way twice before he sighed and finally closed his screen and pulled out his phone to text her.

_[Nervous?]_

She glanced up to look back at him after grabbing her phone from the couch and reading his message. Nibbling her bottom lip, she hesitated before turning back to her phone and quickly replying.

_[Terrified]_

Vegeta's face softened in the dull light of his apartment and he nodded slightly in understanding. She tapped her fingers against the screen three times before turning to type out another quick message.

_[Talk?]_

Four letters, four little letters was all it took to send Vegeta's heart rate skyrocketing and his nerves jittering. How is it that this beautiful, clever, funny woman wanted to waste her time with him was beyond his comprehension. He had a feeling it was because of their unique situation, but then again maybe not. Thinking it over for a few minutes, Vegeta shifted his gaze back to her hopeful blue eyes and nodded. His heart thrummed painfully in his chest as he saw her press the button to call him over her phone. Vegeta's fingers shook slightly as he hit the answer button after the second ring, then slowly lifted the phone to his ear.

" **How the _fuck_ does one stay sane in a shit show like this?**" Her shaky nervous voice filtered through the device and reached his ear. He let out a small chuckle as some of the tension left his shoulders with her words. She always knew what to say to make him feel more at ease with the awkwardness of conversing, it was like a gift. Removing his laptop off his legs and to the floor, Vegeta shifted to get more comfortable in his chair before speaking.

" **Honestly, a lot of practice.** " Her snort of disbelief on the other end had him smirking in his chair. " **That and maybe a couple of beers...** " He joked, his voice drifting off at the end as she barked out a short laugh.

" **Fuck, I would kill for some alcohol right about now! Or maybe smoke something to take the edge off...** " She said with a desperate tone as she tilted her head back, her phone laying on the couch next to her.

" **I would hope not. I'm still a cop you know.** " He said sarcastically and grinned with her frustrated huff.

" **Marijuana is legal you know.** " She quipped back and he chuckled. She started to place her folded clothes back in the hamper.

" **Save it, it's only the first day and your going to want something for later when the cabin fever kicks in. Trust me.** " Vegeta said sagely and she hummed softly into his ear as he saw her nod from his window.

They were both silent for a minute, staring out at one another through their windows against the night sky. She moved to sit on her couch, grabbing her phone and switching off speaker mode to place it against her ear. " **Do you think...** " She muttered softly before pausing and biting her bottom lip. Vegeta hummed questioningly in response and she pulled her legs up to her chest, tugging her large sweater over her knees to keep warm.

" **Do you really think someone is out there trying to kill me?** " She said timidly and wrapped an arm around her legs. " **Like Yamcha or someone Shinhan hired?** "

Vegeta stiffened at her question and sighed heavily, running a hand through his disheveled flame shape hair. " **Is that was Kakarot said or is that what _you_ think?**"

He saw her shrug as she looked at her feet, fingers nervously picking at her blanket. " **Bit of both, Goku said they were worried that Shinhan might attempt to 'silence the witnesses.' I'm not stupid, I know what that means...** " She whispered softly in the dim light of her apartment.

" **Never said you were...** " He smirked as she glanced to to catch his gaze before looking back down at her feet again. " **In fact the whole reason you're in this mess is exactly because you're too smart for your own good.** " He said with a teasing smile as he saw her own lips quirk up at the corners into a smile.

" **Jackass...** " She snarked back fondly before she turned toward him and leaned back more into her couch with a sigh. " **Only you would be able to take something meant to be a compliment and turn it into an insult.** "

Vegeta's deep, gruff chuckle echoed in the silence at her words. " **What can I say? I have a talent for it.** " He said jokingly as he slouched in his chair.

He watched silently as she reached up and pushed her silky hair behind the shell of her ear and bit her lip. " **I never really got to thank you properly for all that you've done, you know...** "

Her voice held a flirtatious tone to it that made his heart skip a beat. Vegeta tried to shove down his feelings, twisting and wriggling like a pile of excited puppies, and replied automatically before he could stop himself. " **You don't need to, I'm just doing my job.** "

" **Oh...** " Her disappointed tone made him wince and look up to see the sad expression on her face before she quickly attempted to shutter it. " **So I guess asking if you wanted to drink together the day after tomorrow is a no go huh? Wouldn't want you drinking on the job and breaking rules...** " She said with a bitter laugh and got up off the couch to pick up her basket.

" **Bulma...** " Vegeta said softly and watched helplessly as he felt the unspoken attraction they had bubbling between them up till tonight blow away like ash in the wind. He tried to will his mouth to move, to form words on his lips and save this delicate, precious thing they had, but his fear was overwhelming. As a minute passed with their joined silence, she waited for him to finish what he was saying before sighing dejectedly into the receiver and walked into her bedroom.

" **Look I should really head to bed, I'll see ya tomorrow yeah?** " He heard her voice shake slightly on the other side and felt his heart squeeze painfully at the thought that she was on the verge of tears. Swallowing to try and loosen his vocal cords so he could speak, Vegeta croaked out in response.

" **Yeah...look I didn't mean...** " His voice was cut off by her obvious attempt to sound casual.

" **Forget I mentioned it. It's okay, I get it.** " The dark pit in Vegeta's stomach opened deeper as he could only nod back in the pitch black with no one to see. " **Night V.** " Her voice held such bittersweet pain it made his throat constrict as she clicked to end the call. Vegeta sat in the stillness of his room staring at his phone as he slowly came to terms that he might have just fucked up his one chance at the best thing that would ever cross his path. He dropped his phone to the ground as he spent the rest of the night wallowing in self-loathing in his armchair.

_ Sometimes you stay up and get stoned _

The next two days were torture for Vegeta. He couldn't help but watch as the woman tried to play it off like she wasn't affected or hurting from his carelessness. His partner's attempts to figure out what went down and supply his own 'helpful advice' made it even worse. Vegeta could see Bulma was fraying at the edges from the stress of their lockdown. Even her simple gestures showed the tension, and if he was being honest, Vegeta wasn't too far behind. It was after the second night, with her refusal to even look his way or respond to some of his texts in an attempt to smooth things over, that Vegeta decided to make one last ditch effort to fix things. Calling in a favor, he had Krillin hold out in his apartment to watch over her while Vegeta went to a liquor store. He bought himself some beer and got her some wine coolers, and bagged everything up. He wrote her name on the bag with her wine coolers and left it at her door step. Vegeta sent a picture of it sitting at her front door with a text message underneath it.

_[I fucked up, let me make it up to you tonight. 9pm, window.]_

As he left her building, he saw the indicator that his message had been read and stuffed his phone in his pocket while he rushed back home. Five minutes later had Vegeta walk through his front door and see the bald officer walk towards him with a smile.

" **She picked up the bag as soon as you left the floor.** " Vegeta grunted acknowledgement and walked over to the window to see her moving around behind the closed blinds of her bedroom.

" **Anything unusual while I was gone?** " He said tiredly. His bag he left for her by the door was nowhere in sight. Vegeta sighed and moved to unpack his beers and stuff them in his fridge.

" **Not really, unless you count her standing at the window to stare at me like she was going to murder me for five minutes.** " Vegeta turned his puzzled gaze to see the mischievous smile on Krillin's face and groaned. He knew he would never hear the end of this from the man, and he started to regret asking Krillin to cover the patrol shifts around their block for tonight as well. " **If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to set up a date night.** " He said with a teasing smirk and Vegeta tried to growl threateningly at the man.

" **Then it's a good thing it's none of your goddamned business.** " He huffed and went to push the man out his door.

" **Hey, I was just kidding! You know I have my own girlfriend right?** " Vegeta rolled his eyes and opened his door.

" **Please tell me your not dating the Gold Digger from that nightclub you busted two months back for 'VIP specials.'** " At the man's silence, Vegeta slapped his hand over his face and groaned with disbelief. " **For fuck sakes, Krillin. Do you even know her name?** "

Bristling at his accusation, the bald man straightened his shoulders and glared back haughtily. " **As a matter of fact I do! It's Maron, and she's actually a nice girl that was down on her luck. I was just lending her an ear and things changed when she wanted to go out for dates, it's not what you think.** " Vegeta snorted and watched the officer walk out his door with a smirk.

" **Sure it isn't, and how many times has she asked for you to take her to a high end restaurant or to go shopping with her?** " At his silence, Vegeta continued with snigger. " **And how many of those times has she 'forgotten her wallet' or had you pay for her, telling you 'she'll make it up to you?' Hm?** " The bald man just stuttered and looked down at his feet, his face flushed with embarrassment at being made a fool of once again by a pretty girl. " **I'm telling you for your own good, she's using you. Look for someone better.** "

" **Easy for you to say, you've got a date with an 11 tonight.** " Krillin sighed and thrust his hand in his pants as he walked dejectedly away muttering over his shoulder. Vegeta grinned widely and shut his door after the man started to walk down the stairs. Turning to head to his living room window, Vegeta noticed there was writing left for him on the woman's window.

_{Game Night accepted}_

Grinning like a mad man, Vegeta went about the rest of the evening getting ready for what he hoped would be a night to remember.

-Later that night-

Vegeta checked himself one last time in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. He had decided on a dark grey, deep v neck, long sleeved shirt that he had pushed up the sleeves to show off his forearms. It fit snugly around his shoulders and chest, and had a row of snap buttons midway down his front. He left the top three undone to be able to show off a hint of his chest as he finally was able to leave his soft cast off. Paired with dark blue, stretch denim jeans that were worn and faded, fitting tightly around his hips and thighs, Vegeta thought he looked good but not like he was trying to hard. ([Vegeta's outfit w/o belt](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1xDB9SpXXXXbkapXXq6xXFXXX3/2017-new-winter-men-s-V-Neck-Ring-Prong-buckle-decorated-sanding-Slim-long-sleeved-T.jpg_640x640.jpg))

His bare feet padded across the hardwood floor as he made his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he turned to make his way to his window and saw the woman's blinds closed across the way. Checking his phone, he tapped his foot impatiently as the slight feeling of dread that she would cancel on him and throw the night away. ' _8:55 and still no sign of her..._ ' He thought worriedly and popped the top of his beer to take a swig to calm his nerves. As the bitter taste slid down his throat, Vegeta unconsciously paced back and forth, unaware of the shadow moving behind the blinds on the other side. ' _This was a mistake, she's regretting it, that's why she's not here. What was I thinking!_ ' His mind cursed himself as he took another large swallow just as the blinds on the other side started to rise.

Shifting his head to look at the movement, Vegeta coughed and sputtered, as the beer went down the wrong pipe from his surprise. He quickly placed his beer on the coffee table as he stood at the window, gawking at the sight before him. There standing with one hand propped on her hip and the other pulling up her blinds was Bulma looking like a goddess. Her cerulean locks were pinned up in a messy intricate updo with small pieces falling around her face and neck. Her make up was done with a natural look with her lips tinged a dusty rose color, the smoky eye shadow making her blue eyes pop. Her dress was a off the shoulder long sleeve, royal blue, bodycon dress with ruching along the waist and legs to crisscross in the front and end mid thigh. When she turned to get her own wine cooler from her fridge, Vegeta saw that the dress had almost no back. It was so low it almost showed the top of her ass, only a thin gold chain across the back of her shoulders kept it from slipping down her frame.

Vegeta's brain struggled to reboot and he slowly came back to reality with the buzzing of his phone. Pulling it out of his back pocket, he looked down to see she left him a message.

_[Hey there stranger, looking good!]_

Vegeta rested one arm against the window and slumped in defeat as he looked up to see her grinning back at him as she gave him a wink. He typed her back after running a hand over his face.

_[You're one to talk, now I feel under dressed. Are you even wearing anything under that?]_

He rested his head against the window with a thunk before wincing at his lame joke and awkwardness. He sent another message quickly before she could reply.

_[Nvm, don't answer that. I don't need any more ideas.]_

Vegeta winced again and lifted his head to the ceiling with a groan as the woman across the way watched him with a giddy, coy smile. Deciding that he needed to try and salvage his texting faux pas, Vegeta tried again.

_[Wait, I'm not saying I've been having ideas. Not that anyone wouldn't with you looking like a knock out in that dress.]_

' _Shit not good, come on! Act smooth Vegeta..._ ' He thought to himself as he took a deep steadying breath.

_[I mean it's just a game night, right? Two strangers drinking with each other while playing games, but you're dressed to impress. Like for a date.]_

' _FUCK!_ ' His mind shouted and he slammed his head against the window with a loud thunk. He was pretty sure his face was bright red all the way to the tips of his ears.

_[NOT A DATE, I meant not a date cause this is obviously NOT a date...]_

' _K_ _ill me now...'_ He thought with a groan and rubbed his hand over his eyes to try and erase the shame and embarrassment he felt from his face. He could feel her eyes on him, that tingling sensation ever present during the ordeal.

_[Can we start over and pretend this never happened?]_

The buzz in his hand told him she had finally responded, he didn't have the courage to look at her as he check the message.

_[Has anyone ever told you you're FUCKING adorable?]_

Vegeta snorted into his hand and cautiously lifted his head to meet her gaze, She was grinning with such mirth that he couldn't pick up any teasing or deception from her words. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked back down to type out his answer.

_[Not usually the first word that comes up, no. More like scary, crazy, or heartless.]_

He looked up to see her smirk at his message before she replied back with her own.

_[Psh, I've dated someone that was all three and trust me, you are NOT that. Exhibit A: Yamcha...]_

Vegeta straightened his posture and walked back to his armchair to sit down. He shifted to get comfortable as he typed out another message.

_[I was gonna ask how the hell that happened, but maybe after a few drinks and games. Right now I think we both need to keep our mind off that shit.]_

He watched her hips sway as she walked to her couch and plopped down to cross her legs, her skirt riding up so high that another inch would have her ass hanging out of the bottom. He struggled to keep his mind out of the gutter as he saw her shift against the cushions.

_[Yes please! You have no idea how badly I needed a night like this. It's been years!]_

Tilting his head to the side, his brows furrowed as he read her message. Typing back a few question marks, Vegeta leaned over to grab his beer and took a deep gulp while he waited.

_[I meant it's been years since I've been on a NOT a date with a cute funny guy ;P]_

Vegeta coughed again and ended spilling some of his beer on his pants with a growl. He looked up to see her giggle with a hand over her mouth. Grabbing for her wine cooler with her free hand, she gave him a coy wink and a kiss. Vegeta blushed and quickly looked down at his phone to avoid her gaze before typing back.

_[So you said games right? Any thoughts on what you wanted to play?]_

He glanced up to see her grinning with her wine cooler nestled against her chest, his eyes silently pleading with her to move on. Taking a long drag from the bottle, she placed it on the side table before answering him back.

_[How good are you at drawing?]_

-Four hours later-

" **A pig! A cow!...** " Her voice shouted over the phone before the alarm wet off and Vegeta growled out, throwing his hands in the air.

" **It's a centaur! See? That's his head and he has the horse body here.** " He said while circling the parts he pointed out while her boisterous laugh burst through the phone, causing his grin to widen subconsciously.

" **A CENTAUR! OH MY GOD! THAT IS NOT A CENTAUR! HAH HA!** " She joyfully exclaimed as he took a step back and looked at his own work. It was true it didn't really look like his best work, but six beers in made everything look a bit funny. Not to mention he was secretly trying to draw weird to make her laugh, it had become his favorite sound in the last few hours.

" **Well it's certainly better than your _hand dryer_ that looked like a** **speeding** **radar gun!** " He mocked back with no real heat as she let loose a fresh batch of giggles before calming herself and attempted to sound offended.

" **Hey! It was a simple misread of the prompt! It could happen to anybody!** " He chuckled as he wiped his window clean of the drawing and moved to grab his lukewarm beer from the coffee table.

" **Heh, this anybody wouldn't happen to be seven drinks in and have had smoked some pot already would they?** " He said teasingly as she gasped in mock horror, her free hand slapping against her breasts and making them jiggle slightly to his satisfaction. He watched with glee as she breathed out " ** _Never!_** " before taking a final sip of her seventh wine cooler.

" **Hm, right. It's your turn by the way.** " Vegeta turned to sit in his armchair as she checked her phone for the prompt and clumsily got up to jog to the window. After three and a half hours of playing Pictionary with her, Vegeta was surprised he was still having a pretty good time. They weren't really keeping score as each other was just enjoying the other's company. He's be lying if a big part of that wasn't due to loving the way she would get really animated when it was her turn to draw. He would sit in his chair and spout out random things that came to mind while his dark eyes took in the temping and hypnotic movements of her body.

" **An oven, a barn, no a church? Wait, a priest?** " He heard her angry huff and knew he had to actually try to focus or she would stop and rant for five minutes like the last time. However, Bulma ended up throwing him for a loop when she grabbed her boobs with her hands and jiggled them at him. He blinked at her while his brain tried to process what she just did, she pointed to the drawing and his mind pieced it together. " **A nun.** "

" **Bingo!** " She shouted and jumped up and down with a giggle. " **I knew you would get it if I used the girls!** "

" **That's cheating, we aren't playing charades here...** " Vegeta grumbled and tilted his bottle back to finish the remains of his sixth beer. 

" **Oh please! Like you haven't been staring at them all night anyways. Besides, you're just upset because I would kill it playing charades.** " She teased with a huff and wiped her abstract drawing off her window. Vegeta blushed lightly and cleared his throat, choosing to ignore her accusation because they both knew it was true.

" **Not in that dress you wouldn't, I bet you can barely move as it is.** " He fiddled with the empty bottle on his knee as he watched her place her hands on her hips defiantly.

" **Oh are you saying you don't like my dress? Ouch, and after all the time I put in to look good for you.** " She said jokingly as she ran her hands down the front of her dress before turning to show him the back, running her hands over the curve of her ass as well.

" **I didn't say that, you know what I meant.** " He said with a sigh and rubbed his forehead tiredly. It was getting late he thought glumly, they both should get some water and head to bed to sleep off the alcohol. " **It's getting late...** "

Bulma's gasped 'NO' had him look up to see her pressing her hands and chest against the window as she gazed back at him with a sad puppy dog look.

" **Don't give me that look, woman...** " He growled low as he bent over to place his empty bottle on the floor. He glanced up to see her flop down on the couch with a pout and crossed her arms and legs. " **Oh come now, haven't you had enough for tonight? You can't still want to play more...** "

" **It's not the games I wanted, it was time with you...** " She grumbled softly, causing his heart to stop beating and stutter in his chest. Tapping his fingers against his armrest, Vegeta's alcohol fueled brain struggled with his resolve before deciding to take a chance. Leaning forward in his chair, he practically purred into the phone as he replied.

" **Alright, how bout this. I'll agree to stay up a little longer, but in return you need to drink a glass of water.** " She tilted her head in thought as Vegeta got up to toss his empty bottles in the trash.

" **Can we move to the bed then? I don't want to go to sleep right now, but I am feeling a bit woozy.** " Bulma said as she stumbled to the kitchen to get her glass of water. Vegeta watched her from his kitchen and smirked.

" **Sure, but first, drink some water.** " She snorted lightly at him and filled a small glass with water before she responded jokingly with a teasing tone. " **Yes daddy.** "

Vegeta chuckled softly at her friskiness as he flipped off his lights and moved to his bedroom, turning to watch the woman drink her water before she put the empty glass cup in the sink. " **Good girl.** " He growled playfully, the low rumble gave her shivers as she accidentally let slip a whispered moan. A wolfish smile grazed Vegeta's lips as he saw the woman rush to her bedroom to sit on her own bed.

_ But you always sleep alone _

In the soft glow of the city lights, Vegeta laid on his back in his bed. His head occasionally turned to catch glimpses of the woman laying on her own bed in her dress. They had talked, and flirted, for almost another hour before she asked him a question with a serious tone.

" **Hey Vegeta?** " His encouraging hum had her pause for a moment before steeling herself and rolling over on her stomach to look at him through the small window. " **Do you ever get tired of it? You know, being alone all the time I mean...** " Vegeta's silent stunned response had her sitting up on her knees as her fingers traced the patterns on her duvet. He sat up and pressed the phone closer to his ear before sighing.

" **I don't really get much of a choice with my job. Plus, as you well know, I'm not really a people person...** " He tried to deflect but the woman clicked her tongue on the other line as he saw her roll her eyes through the window.

" **Besides that! I mean don't you miss having someone to come home to? You know, so you're not going to sleep...alone...** " Vegeta watched her slump down slightly as she wrapped her free arms around her chest in self comfort. He ran his hand through his hair as he looked down at the floor, his voice quiet as he answered.

" **Yes...why are you asking?** " Her embittered laugh floated through the air softly and he looked up to see her slide to lay on one side of her hip. She propped up her head with the hand that held her phone as the other had her fingers trace the skin on her thigh in absent-minded circles.

" **Is there something wrong with me?** " Her voice barked out before fading to a whisper. " **I'm smart, rich, and beautiful yet...** " She cut off and waved one arm at the empty bed in silence to make her point that she was in her room alone. " **The only men who want me** **are creeps like Daryl.** " She took a deep shaky breath as Vegeta clenched his jaw in silence. " **It's been so long I don't even remember what it feels like to be kissed...** " Her voice hitched slightly as the tears started to gather in her eyes.

" **Woman...** " He said tenderly as he heard her softly crying over the line, the sounds tugging painfully at his heartstrings. Her body curled up on herself into a protective ball as Vegeta sat helplessly by.

" **I mean fuck V! Can you honestly tell me if it wasn't your job, would you even be here talking to me?** " Her breath caught in her throat and she heaved a sob before gathering herself. " **I'm just another job...** "

" **That's not true!** " He growled out low over the phone, stilling her tears for a moment before he let out a strained huff. " **Please stop crying...** " Her erratic breaths could still be heard softly through the phone and Vegeta fell onto his back with a pained groan. " **Woman, I was watching you _before_ this became my job...**" He winced in the dark and shifted his weight in the silence growing between them before her hopeful voice whispered " **R** **eally?** " His dry laugh echoed in the room, followed by a sad smile. " **Honestly, you have no idea what I'd give to be there right now, but I have rules I have to follow.** " Vegeta sat up to see her lying fully on one side and was relieved to see it seemed that she had stopped crying.

 **"Wait, are you saying you** **actually like me?** " Her quiet voice interrupted his thoughts as she spoke through her sniffling. " **Huh?** " His confused mind forced out through his mouth before he saw her bite her nail nervously before continuing in a hushed tone. " **Do you want to come over, you know to keep me company** **?** " Vegeta's brain shorted and it took a moment to reboot and reply back.

" **I uh, I do-don't think that would be a good idea...** " He flinched at the cowardice of his own words as a soft " **Oh** " was her only answer. " **I'm suppose to keep you safe, and to do that I need to watch from here in case Yamcha tries something again.** " He could hear her disheartened sigh as he saw her crawl up the bed to get under the covers. Vegeta knew this woman had no idea of the type of man he was, what his past was like. It was the main reason he was keeping his distance, but her words had unconsciously opened the flood gates to the overwhelming loneliness he had managed to keep at bay most of his life.

' _Screw it!_ ' His mind cried out, he was done with the fear of letting someone get close. ' _Besides, it's already too late, she's already slipped past my walls without even trying._ ' He thought with a smile as he pulled his shirt and jeans off, he moved to slide under his own sheets. " **Hey, why don't you ask me again after we catch Wolfgang...** " Vegeta turned on his side and watched her smile happily through the window as she locked eyes with him. " **Okay...** " She said, the excitement evident in her tone as she snuggled deeper into the covers and closer to his voice.

" **Try and get some sleep, I'll stay on till you do.** " His smooth gruff voice came over the line in the dark of their apartments.

" **Okay, goodnight Vegeta...** " She hummed back contently and Vegeta heard her breaths slowly even out as she slipped into a peaceful sleep.

" **Goodnight Bulma.** " He whispered back before ending the call and placed his phone on the nightstand. Propping his head up with his arm under his pillow, he shifted on his side to face the window as he let sleep claim him.

_Do I ever cross your mind, Through your window in the sky_

As the next few days passed in their lock down, Vegeta saw the woman start to get more and more agitated. They would talking every night, and Vegeta would stay on the line till she was finally able to fall asleep before ending the call. Slowly but surely, Bulma was getting to know more about him. Yet, she never once showed a desire to run away or end things. In fact it was starting to become apparent that it was quite the opposite, she was beginning to lose patience and become more desperate. They were arguing again for the fifth time about either of the two leaving their apartments.

" **Oh my GOD Vegeta! Just fucking call Goku or Krillin to walk me to the damn building if you are that worried!** " She growled out on the line through her earpiece as he saw her throw up her hands in the air with an angry huff. She was pacing back and forth, wearing out a path in her rug as she stomped around. " **I can't take another fucking day of this! I want out! I need to see people...** " She paused her pacing and sighed wearily and looked through her window to see him standing at his window staring back. " **I want to see you...** " She said gently as she walked up to the window and placed her hand against the glass. Vegeta shifted his weight uncomfortably, his hand in one pocket with the other held his phone to his ear.

" **Woman, we've been over this already...** " He tried to say calmly for the third time today " **It's not safe for you to leave right now.** " Bulma let out a frustrated sound as she rolled her eyes at him. He tried to ignore it as his stern voice spoke to her gently. " **I _will not_ risk your safety because you are getting cabin fever, you are too important...**" She clicked her tongue and snorted back into the phone before speaking up to interrupt his well known rant.

" **For the case, I'm the lead witness with key evidence and I they can't afford to have me wind up dead. Yeah, yeah I know.** " She said despairingly as she rested her head against the window.

" **No actually...** " He grunted out, surprising her and causing her head to lift up to look at him. " **I was going to say your too important to me to risk your life like that.** " He said softly and averted his eyes as his face flushed slightly. He heard her sharp intake of breath and glanced to see her face blush as an elated smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

" **Oh, well in that case...** " Bulma bit her bottom lip lightly and stepped back from the window. " **I guess I could stay put for another day or two.** " Her hand fiddled with the hem of her flannel button up shirt as she steeled herself for her next suggestion. " **But in return for staying put, I want to try something if you're up for it...** " Vegeta's eyebrow raised questioningly as he took in her demure manner, it was well past ten o'clock and he was starting to feel exhausted from their fights during the day.

" **Woman, I don't have the energy nor the mental strength to play twenty questions right now.** " He moved to the kitchen and grabbed a drink from the fridge, the lamp near his armchair the only source light in his darkened apartment.

" **No it's not that, what I had in mind would be more _enjoyable_ for you.**" She said, her sultry tone dangerous low. Vegeta halted in front of his kitchen counter with wide eyes, her voice had sent his pulse racing. Bulma had turned off all her lights except for the table lamp near the sofa and sat on the couch facing him.

" **I-I'm listening.** " He said with a dry swallow and she giggled coquettishly over the phone.

_When you forget to close the blinds, So do I_

" **I was thinking that we could give each other another show...** " She said suggestively while Vegeta made his way back to his armchair with haste. He plopped down clumsily in the chair and took a deep breath before answering.

" **I uh, aren't you concerned someone could be watching?** " She laughed lightly and put her phone on speaker before she stood up.

" **That's kinda the point right? I mean _you_ are watching, and you're someone...**" She bit her lip, her nervous tick, and he noticed she was trying to be sexy and adventurous for him. " **Unless, you're not interested in...** " Vegeta sat up quickly and barked out " **NO!** ", his quick reply startled her and he had to take a breath to collect his thoughts.

" **No, I'm _definitely_ interested. If you want...I'm game.**" He felt his voice crack slightly at his nervousness and winced at the sound. Bulma giggled with mirth and reached up to unclip her hair, letting the silky waves of blue fall about her shoulders. " **Uhm, wh-what do I need to do?** " Vegeta said as he shifted to sit at the very edge of his chair, his eyes glued to the gorgeous woman in front of him.

Vegeta observed Bulma reach up to her top button on her flannel shirt with her nimble hands and deftly pop it open. " **All you have to do it watch.** " She purred into the phone as two more buttons came undone. " **Unless, you want to join me...** " She said with a kittenish quality to her tone.

Vegeta tried clearing his throat, but it came out as a strangled, garbled cough. By the time she had all but one button left, he felt his apartment was boiling. The woman's fingers grazed up her stomach, over the curve of each breast, and hooked the sides of shirt with her index finger. She slowly pulled open to reveal her creamy chest in the dim light encased in a blood red, lacy half-cup bra. Vegeta watched her slide the shirt down her shoulders and arms, he felt like he was about to combust any minute. Grabbing the hem of his own shirt, he hastily tore it off in one swipe, the cold air kissing his heated skin and helping to cool him down.

Bulma's pleased hum floated to his ears as Vegeta grabbed his electrolyte water on the coffee table to drink. Her hands skimmed over her form, cupping her voluptuous breast to end at dipping in the side of her shorts. Tugging at the sides, she slipped the waistband of her short over her thighs and down her legs at an achingly slow pace.

" ** _Woman..._** " Vegeta's hoarse voice croaked over the line as the soft thud of the material could be heard hitting the floor. Her matching underwear seemed like it was a few pieces of lace held together by string and Vegeta felt a rush, suddenly lightheaded.

" **What do you think V? Do you like my outfit?** " She asked playfully, tugging at the strings of her underwear with one hand and a bra strap with the other.

Vegeta's brain had overheated, he had wanted to say ' _Fuck yes! In fact I want to tear the rest of it off with my teeth and taste every inch of you._ ' However, what really came out was " **I-I uh, um fu...huh?** " Too much of his blood was being diverted to another area than his brain, and the poor man couldn't think properly. Before he could try and gather his thoughts to give a proper response, she reached up to slide the straps of her bra down each shoulder. Slowly reaching behind to unhook the clasp in the back, Vegeta's brain melted and he could only think one word _'Fuck!_ '

However, Bulma's face took on a confused and worried look, and she tilted her head to look around briefly. " **Wait, do you hear that?** " The concern in her voice as well as her stop in movement snapped him back to the world around him. Vegeta looked quickly around and his heart stopped as dread started to fill a pit in his stomach. There in the apartment hallway window was Yamcha, trying to pick her door open in the flickering light. 

" **Woman, get your things and block the bedroom door NOW!** " He said as he stood up quickly before ending the call. He watched as her eyes widened with fear. Without hesitating, Bulma grabbed her clothes off the floor, placed something on the kitchen counter, and ran to the bedroom to lock the door. Dialing his partner's number, He grabbed the marker and wrote on his window.

_{Calling Kakarot, buy time}_

His phone clicked over just as he finished writing his message and his partner's voice, muffled by the sounds of the police department, came through." **Hey Geets! you really gotta...** " Vegeta didn't let him finish and barked out his question. 

" **Is Krillin on patrol? I need someone at Bulma's ASAP!** " He heard shuffling on the other end and muted talking before his partner's serious tone filtered back over.

" **No, he got called off and Zarbon is supposedly covering.** "Vegeta growled out at Kakarot's answer and there was shouting and chaos coming from the other end. He heard his partner slam a car door shut as the engine turned over. " **Yamcha's back?** " He asked.

" **Yeah, and he's trying to break in to her apartment as we speak.** " Vegeta watched as the man pulled out a deadbolt cutter and proceeded to work at the dead lock of her door. " **FUCK, he's got a deadbolt cutter! Either Zarbon has fucked off or he is being paid.** " Vegeta barked and ran to his dresser, pulling out his badge and spare gun. He checked to see if he had it loaded before he slammed the drawer shut. " **ETA?** " He said as he ran to grab and put on his coat and shoes before heading out the door.

" **Ten minutes, maybe eight if I'm lucky.** " Kakarot said back as he flicked on his siren, the blaring making it hard for Vegeta to hear anything the man was saying. However, Vegeta was bolting down the stairs, almost jumping down full sets at a time as he raced to reach the bottom. " **Vegeta I hate to ask but I need you to...** " His partner tried to ask before Vegeta's gruff voice cut him off.

" **Already out the door with my spare piece, you'd better hurry if you want the piece of shit alive for questioning.** " He ended the call with a click and stuffed his phone into his back pocket. Running out the door he quickly dodge the people on the street and busted through the front door of Bulma's apartment complex. He ran to the elevator and flashed his badge to force the people out and punched the button for eighteenth floor before smashing the close door button. He tried to remain calm as the seconds ticked by, doing his best to not think of what could be happening to her at that moment.

The doors slid open and he dashed out as soon as he could to see her door was wide open at the end of the hall. Pulling out his gun he quickly moved to the wall beside it and waited for a sound from inside to let him know where the intruder was.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bulma hadn't waited to act when she heard Vegeta tell her to bolt her self in her bedroom. She knew by now if he said to do something, there was always a good reason for it. Pausing by her kitchen to prop up her phone, she had left it to record her front door for safety. Running into her bedroom, she closed the door and pulled her flannel shirt and shorts back on before pushing her dresser in front of the door. After that was done, she heard her front door break open with a kick and had to stifle a cry of surprise. Looking out her bedroom window she saw the message Vegeta had left for her and bolstered her resolve. Help was on the way, she just had hold of long enough to give them the time to make it.

" **Where are you Babe. I've got a score to settle with you!** " Yamcha's slurred and angry voice muffled by the walls reached her ears and sent her nerves alight with fear. Taking a deep breath, she rushed to her closet and rummage through it to grab her police grade mace. Hearing his footsteps near her bedroom door she quickly walked as quietly as she could to her bathroom. The door shook as he tried to tried to open it, there was silence for a moment before his body slammed into the wood. Closing the bathroom door, Bulma locked it and quickly went to wet a hand towel to wrap around her face. Minutes went by before she heard the bedroom door split open with a crack and the sound of her dresser being pushed across her floor.

" **You're only making this worse for yourself by pissing me off! Just fucking come out already and take your punishment!** " His high pitched angry screams caused her fingers to shake. Bulma took a few deep breaths to try and gather herself. ' _Just a few more minutes, Vegeta called for back up. You just need to hold out for a few more minutes..._ ' Her mind reaffirmed as she waited for the right moment to strike. Yamcha didn't even test the door handle before he flung himself at the door to break it open. Bulma readied her mace at eye level when he would break through and adjusted the towel around her nose and mouth one last time. " **I only wanted to talk, but now I'm gonna fucking break every DAMN bone in your body!** " Yamcha screamed as he threw himself at the door recklessly.

At the fourth hit the door gave way and snapped, having him barrel through, and Yamcha turned to see her off to the side. Bulma pressed down on the can's button and mace him directly in the eyes while closing her own. " **MOTHER FUCKING BITCH!** " He screamed and fell over the toilet as he tried to get to her and she rushed by him, jumping over his prone body. Pulling the wet towel from her face, she had avoided getting the backsplash on herself with it. Bulma hastily moved through her bedroom and around the dresser, unaware of the sound of her desperate whimpers. She was halfway through the living room when she felt something tackle her from behind. She went down with a scream as she felt Yamcha's bulky body press down on her from above.

' _I was almost free!_ ' Her frantic mind screamed out as she felt his bruisingly harsh grip turn her around to face him. His face was a mess, his eyes bloodshot and watering, his nose running and dripping onto her shirt. He raised one hand and back handed her across the face, her right cheek and eye exploding in stinging excruciating pain. She couldn't help but cry out from it and whimpered as he reached for her throat. " **Look what you fucking did to me! You Goddamned...** " He didn't have a chance to finish what he said as a shot rang out in the small apartment. Bulma saw Yamcha's face widen in shock before quickly shifting to one of agony, blood spurting from his left shoulder as he released her and fell backward. She coughed out as the breath filled her lungs, scooting away from the man writhing on the ground.

" **Are you alright?** " The familiar gruff voice had her turning to face him with tears in her eyes. He was standing in the doorway with a gun in his hands, his eyes hard like obsidian as they never left the man on the floor. He was the perfect vision of a dark and handsome hero she'd always read about in her books. Crawling on her hands and knees, she moved over to his side before standing up to leaning on his shoulder.

She couldn't hold back the sobs as she voiced out " **Ve-ge-ta!** " His face softened slightly as his gaze flickered over her form, taking in her appearance as he checked to see if she was injured. With one hand he gently pulled her behind him as he moved toward the kitchen, his gun never leaving a line of sight on Yamcha. He pulled her behind the counter and pushed gently on her shoulder to get her to sit on the ground.

" **We're not clear yet, Kakarot has less than four minutes till he gets here. I have a feeling this isn't over yet, I need you to stay put here.** " He said tenderly as he caressed her red cheek with his thumb and her sobs quieted. Nodding her head with shaky movements, Vegeta gave her a boyish smile. " **There's a good girl, you did good...** " He was interrupted by the groan and sound of shuffling by Yamcha on the floor. With a scowl, Vegeta walked over to the man and with the butt of his gun, hit Yamcha on the head to knock him out. Pulling out his phone he typed a quick message to his partner before he heard footsteps near the door. Vegeta quietly slid behind the couch and turned to place a finger over his lips to Bulma hiding behind the kitchen counter.

" **Wolfgang? What the hell is going on? Are you done in there?** " Zarbon's voice floated through the doorway as his frame blocked the light come from the hallway. The figure pause and let out a quiet curse as he reached for his gun, pulling it out swiftly before entering the room. Vegeta grimaced, berating himself mentally for not firing when the man entered, but years on the force trained him to only shoot when absolutely necessary as a last resort or to safe a life. Zarbon was decked out in full gear, meaning that he would have a bullet proof vest on. Vegeta's mind whirled as he tried to think of a way to save their lives and still disable the dirty cop. " **Little miss? Come on out now, there's no point in hiding...** "

Zarbon stepped toward the kitchen after stepping around the unconscious man on the floor. Vegeta knew they wouldn't not have enough time to wait for his partner to arrive, Zarbon would kill Bulma before then. Slowly moving himself into position, Vegeta leaned around the back of the couch and lined up the shot. Zarbon flicked on the light to the kitchen and grinned wide as he saw the woman at the end of the counter huddled on the floor. " **There you are! Shinhan sends his regards.** " Zarbon said before raising his gun, that was all Vegeta needed. He shot twice before Zarbon could raise his gun fully, one shot hit the man straight in the shoulder, the other below his arm and in between his vest and armpit.

Zarbon cried out and let loose two of his own shots that hit the ground around Bulma and she let out a scream of terror before running out from her hiding place. Vegeta saw red at her cry, and bull rushed the man into the wall. Vegeta knocked the gun from the man's weakening grip and watched as Zarbon slowly slumped to the floor, his blood streaking down the wall onto the ground and soaking the clothes around his chest. Vegeta took a few steps back and finally took a breath before looking for the woman.

" **Bulma?** " He voiced out before he was tackled by her small shaking frame, his free arm wrapped around her body. " **Shsssh, it's okay now. I got you.** " His low voice tried to sooth her as she cried into his shoulder. His hand rubbing her back in circles before stilling at the sound of another pair of footsteps in the hallway. " **Get behind me**." He ground out softly, pushing her body with one hand while his gun trained of the empty doorway. The footsteps stopped before the door and a voice shouted from the side.

" **Saiyan?** " His partner's strained voice shouted, and Vegeta let loose the breath he was holding. " **Oozaru!** " He shouted back, and was relieved to see Kakarot's form blot out the light from the hallway. He looked around briefly before his eyes rested on the two.

" **Jesus, Geets! Are any of them still alive?** " Kakarot asked jokingly as he made his way over to check on both men to asses their conditions. Putting his gun back on safety, Vegeta holstered it and focused on trying to calm down Bulma. She was silently crying into his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing his warm hands up and down her back.

" **I was more focused on trying to keep both of _us_ alive, besides I only shoot when absolutely necessary now...you know that.**" His gruff irritated voice ground out toward his partner and Kakarot laughed back humorlessly. Stepping over the unconscious body of Yamcha, Kakarot nodded back toward Vegeta.

" **Yeah I know, I'm just glad you were here. I got your message, ambulance should be here soon. Thanks for the heads up with the code word.** " Vegeta grunted back and felt Bulma slowly stop shaking. She turned to look at her old friend and gave him a questioning look.

" **Code word?** " She looked back between the two and Kakarot raised his hand behind his head and rubbed his neck.

" **Yeah, we use Saiyan as a code word for a double cross, usually during raids. It can mean a dirty cop, or a traitor witness. Basically it means ' _Don't trust anyone but us._ ' It's saved our asses from walking into an ambush or shooting each other on accident more than a few times.**" Vegeta looked at Zarbon, realizing the man might die from blood loss before the EMTs got there.

" **Shit, looks like Zarbon might not make it, Roshi is NOT gonna like the paperwork for this one...** " Kakarot hummed in agreement as he cuffed Yamcha on the ground, both men did not notice Bulma walking over to the counter to pick up her phone.

" **Would it make things easier if you had video evidence of the whole ordeal?** " She said confidently as she held up her screen to the two wide eyed men. Their jaws dropped at the same time while Zarbon's self condemning words floated from the screen just before Vegeta shot him at the last moment to stop him from killing her. " **If anyone had any doubts this should clear it up right?** "

Kakarot fist pumped and shouted. " **Alright! Way to go B!** " He gave her a quick side hug before grabbing the phone and heading for the hallway.

Vegeta walked up to her and cupped her face in his hands, his face unable to hide the wonder struck look in his eyes. " **Woman, you are a fucking genius...** " She laughed lightly and nuzzled her uninjured cheek in the palm of his hand. " **Yeah, I know.** " She said cockily, as the sound of the EMTs finally arriving echoed in the apartment. Vegeta pulled her back from the chaos around them and told her to get a few essentials and a change of clothes, that she wouldn't be able to stay in this apartment tonight. She didn't complain, she really didn't want to be alone in the place tonight anyways. She grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed it with a few days worth of a change of clothes, her brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner.

Walking back out toward the front door, she saw Vegeta and her old friend conversing in hushed tones before they stopped when she reached them. Kakarot turned a fake cheerful face her way and reached to grab her bag. " **Hey, all set! Good, you're gonna stay with Chi-Chi and Gohan tonight till we get everything...** " She pulled the bag away from his grasp and turned to look at Vegeta.

" **I'm not going, I want to stay with Vegeta.** " She turned back to Kakarot's surprised face and Vegeta only grunted in approval. " **You aren't going to be home right? You have to head to the station to fill all this out right?** " She asked sternly and Kakakrot nodded twice. She took a few steps closer to Vegeta, linked her arm with his, and gave her oldest friend her best stubborn 'you can't change my mind' look. " **Then I'm staying with Vegeta. If someone else is out there to try and finish the job, he'll be around to stop them.** " Vegeta couldn't help the smug smirk that graced his face as he hummed in agreement.

" **Fair point woman.** " Vegeta said. Kakarot's shoulders slumped and he shook his head, he knew better than to argue with Bulma when she gave him that look. Vegeta handed his piece to his partner, making sure to pull the round in the chamber out and lock the safety on. Unhooking his own gun, Kakarot pulled it out and handed it to Vegeta as they swapped the guns.

" **Fine, Here Geets take mine.** " Vegeta hesitated and opened his mouth to tell his partner he shouldn't. Kakarot held his hand up to stop Vegeta's protest and placed his hand on his partner's shoulder. " **No Geets, I don't care if it's against the rules I don't want you unarmed after all this tonight. If you have to fire it I'll take the heat.** " Vegeta nodded and checked the gun over before putting it in his holster. Both men looked each other in the eye, silently passing words between them before Kakarot broke into a smile first. " **I'll tell Roshi I'll send Krillin to pick you guys up to have you give your statements at the precinct after five pm tomorrow.** " Vegeta nodded and wrapped his arm around Bulma's shoulders and headed to the elevator down the hall. As they walked into the elevator and push for the ground floor, Kakarot's voice caused them to look up.

" **Thanks Vegeta. I know it was your job, but I really owe you one for this.** " Kakarot shouted and Vegeta's head snapped up to lock eyes with his partner on the force for over eight years.

" **It was never a job...** " He stated and as the doors closed, Vegeta saw the smug look on Kakarot's face stare back at him. Vegeta shifted uncomfortably as he felt he just walked into a trap the clown had set for him. Glancing at the woman next to him out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta saw her flushed adoring gaze directed right at him. He cleared his throat nervously at her closeness as the weight of her body pressing against him. It reminded him that this was the first time they had met in person without fifteen feet and glass between them. He felt her arms snake around his waist as she snuggled closer into his embrace. Laying her head against his shoulder, she nuzzled against his neck and whispered against his skin.

" **Never a job huh? My hero, how should I repay you?** " Her tone was seductive as her lips ghosted across his skin, causing him to shiver lightly. Vegeta's heart beat wildly in his chest and he had to avert his face as a blush rose to his cheeks at the woman's hints.

" **I'm sure you'll think of something, woman. You always do...** " Vegeta mumbled embarrassingly before they exited the elevator and started to head back to his apartment. Bulma laughed and followed him, thanking her lucky stars this man had been here from the beginning. He was always watching her, protecting her every minute through his window in the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! That's finally done! Man this was kinda fun to do and get out of my head. Allowing myself to do something a bit different and unusual, like a flirty Vegeta and a shy Bulma at first, but I found that as things got more serious they started to go back to their usual "grumpy embarrassed guy" and "seductive, outgoing girl" but hey was still fun. I apologize that it took so long to knock out, I've had a hell of a week. I finally went through my procedure and now I play the waiting game to find out if it worked and I'm gonna be a mom in less than 9 months. I've been SUPER DUPER tired the last few days and that's made writing really difficult.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this little one shot, and I don't know I might do an extra addition later of what happens when our two get back to Vegeets apartment. We'll have to see.


End file.
